Deal with human needs

FEMA and its leader need to get their act together

Federal officials may have valid complaints about emergency management chief William “Brock” Long’s use of government vehicles, but they showed appalling judgment in distracting him as Hurricane Florence bore down on the Carolinas.

News organizations reported last week that the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has accused Mr. Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, of racking up about $150,000 in unauthorized travel. Investigators followed him for months and reportedly documented dozens of personal trips in government vehicles, chauffeured by aides who were lodged in hotels when Mr. Long traveled home and on vacation.

Mr. Long must answer the allegations. Perhaps he should pay some of the money back or drive his own car once in a while. Yet he runs one of the federal government’s most important agencies and must be available around the clock; maybe he should have a car and driver at his disposal after all.

The time to sort out these issues is not when a hurricane is bearing down on the East Coast.

Unfortunately, the tempest over Mr. Long’s use of cars and his personality conflicts with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen intensified in the run-up to a more important storm, Florence, which made landfall in North Carolina on Sept. 14.

The controversy continued in following days as Florence brought rain and flooding to other parts of the East Coast. A congressman demanded records from Mr. Long, and the inspector general looped federal prosecutors into the investigation. Ms. Nielsen reportedly considered replacing Mr. Long, and he reportedly considered quitting.

One former FEMA official had it right when he told The Washington Post, “Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea, to try to take out the FEMA administrator in the middle of a storm?”

Worse, if Mr. Long were to leave the agency in one way or another, there would be no one to fill the void. The agency’s No. 2 position has been vacant for about two years — something that shouldn’t ever happen. The Senate has yet to act on Mr. Trump’s nomination in June of Peter Gaynor, director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, to be FEMA’s deputy administrator.

There’s also a temporary vacancy in another important position. John Veatch, assistant administrator of the agency’s National Continuity Programs Directorate, was suspended as FEMA geared up for Florence.

Mr. Veatch’s suspension is believed to be related to the Long investigation. But the timing here, too, was atrocious, with the Department of Homeland Security showing horrible discretion in pulling one of FEMA’s senior officials from a hurricane response.

After the controversy over the government’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year, FEMA needs stability.

Let the questions about Mr. Long’s use of government cars play out — but let them do so when he doesn’t have a disaster on his hands. In the meantime, the Senate should act on Mr. Gaynor’s nomination to be FEMA’s second in command.