State exec possible candidate forFEMA position?
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Division of Emergency ManagementDirectorJared Moskowitz says he would answer the phone if called about leading the Federal Emergency Management Agency under PresidentJoe Biden.
But as he dealt Monday with Tropical Storm Eta in the Gulf of Mexico, Moskowitz wouldn’t say what his response would be or if he’d even publicly acknowledge contact from Biden’s team.
“If the call came, I would answer the phone,” Moskowitz said during an interview at the stateEmergency Operations Center, before noting that he hadn’t received such a call.
Besides, “If it rings,” he added, “I probablywon’t tell you anyway.”
Moskowitz said it’s “extremely humbling” to have hisnametossed around as a possible candidate for the federalemergency-management post. But he added the reasons for the rumors are understandable, as he is a Democrat appointed by a Republican governor.
A similar scenario played out whenDemocratic President Barack Obamamoved into the White House in 2009 and appointed Craig Fugate as FEMAdirector.
Fugate, a Democrat, had been named director of the Florida disaster agency in 2001 by Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.
Fugate, who coordinated the state’s disaster response through the record-setting 2004 and 2005 seasons, oversaw FEMA for eight years.
“I’m sure that’s why people are speculating,” Moskowitz said, adding the FEMA director position might not be high on lists of transition priorities.
“I think the presidentand the vice president-elect have a lot more on their minds going on over the next couple of months as they try to build their transition team,” Moskowitz said. “You know, who’s their secretary of state. Treasury. Not that FEMA isn’t important. But you know, look, they got a lot going on.”
Moskowitz, 39, a former state House member from Broward County, has played an important role in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as overseeing response efforts for more-traditional
disasters such as storms.
He was executive vice president and general counsel at AshBritt Environmentalwhenpicked for the emergency-management job in December 2018 as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis transitioned into office. AshBritt, a Deerfield Beach-based national disaster recovery and environmental services company, has contracts throughout the state to clean up post-hurricane debris.
Moskowitz, whoresigned from the private sector job after getting the state appointment, had overseen the company’s contracting and procurement department.
DeSantis noted at the time that Moskowitz had been called a “high octane incumbent” and “an effective Democratic voice in the Republican-dominated Legislature.”
On Saturday, a DeSantis emergency order formally put Moskowitz in charge of the response to Tropical StormEta, the record-tying 28th named storm of this year’s hurricane season.