New York Daily News

Don’s FEMA chief: I am out of here

- BY GINA SALAMONE

Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long is resigning following a two-year stint marred by two controvers­ies.

“While this has been the opportunit­y of the lifetime, it is time for me to go home to my family — my beautiful wife and two incredible boys,” Long, 43, wrote on Wednesday. “As a career emergency management profession­al, I could not be prouder to have worked alongside the devoted, hardworkin­g men and women of FEMA for the past two years.”

He added that his deputy, Peter Gaynor, will step in as acting FEMA administra­tor.

“I leave knowing the agency is in good hands,” Long wrote in his statement.

Long (inset), who was appointed to the position by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate in June 2017, was investigat­ed last year for using government cars in his six-hour commute from Washington to his home in Hickory, N.C.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen found in September that Long used the vehicles “without proper authorizat­ion” but she decided he’d keep his job.

“The administra­tor acknowledg­ed that mistakes were made, and he took personal responsibi­lity,” Nielsen said at the time. Long also agreed to reimburse the government.

Long was also criticized for his handling of the response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017.

Long wrote in his resignatio­n, “During my tenure, the agency worked more than 220 declared disasters. President Trump, Vice President Pence and Secretary Nielsen have been extremely supportive of me, the FEMA workforce and our mission.

“The President and his entire administra­tion provided unpreceden­ted support to the agency as we led the nation through the historic 2017 hurricane and wildfire season,” he added.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States