Have you seen this man?

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From his very first day as Acting Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), David Richardson’s approach was clear: “I’ve never read a book on leadership,” he said in an all-staff Zoom on May 9th, a fact that quickly became abundantly clear. He told anyone who planned to obstruct his work on behalf of President Trump “I will run right over you. Don't get in my way...I know all the tricks."

There have been many Weird Little Guys since the start of Trump’s second administration. In this context, a Weird Little Guy is someone who’s elevated to a position of power with little to no relevant experience and has proved unwavering loyalty to Trump. He allows the higher ups to exert actual power, while he exists mostly as a face and warm body. And as we watch the paltry FEMA response in Texas after floods killed at least 119 people on July 4th and where at least 160 remain missing, Acting Administrator Richardson is proving he can’t even be the face of the agency by staying silent.

As I wrote on Monday, FEMA staffers are alarmed by what they say is the agency’s impossibly slow and deficient response to the death and destruction wrought by the Texas floods. Figures shared with The Handbasket showed just 86 people deployed as of Monday evening. Per Tuesday’s FEMA evening briefing, an additional 204 people had been deployed—just 19 from FEMA, and 185 from other agencies. Few—if any—federal staff are on the ground to help survivors register for assistance.

But perhaps as galling as the weak response is Richardson’s disappearing act: While the former Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security's Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office is not a particularly vocal leader even during quieter weeks, he still has yet to make a single internal or public comment about the impact of the Texas floods and how his agency is helping survivors.

“It is unprecedented for the leader of FEMA to be absent from the public response to a disaster that has killed over 100 Americans,” Dr. Samantha Montano, Associate Professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, told The Handbasket on Wednesday. “Richardson should be on the ground in the impacted areas meeting with local, state, and nonprofit stakeholders. He should be holding press conferences and providing interviews for national outlets. He should be monitoring FEMA’s resources and the broader federal response to ensure it is moving effectively and efficiently.”

Instead, staffers say, he’s holed up in his Washington, DC office at FEMA headquarters. Sources confirm he was physically present on Monday and Tuesday and attended the daily morning meeting. But aside from alerting staff about a planned trip to Peru (purpose of the trip is unclear), Richardson had nothing to share; he did not mention Texas in any capacity. And on Wednesday morning, he didn’t attend the morning meeting at all. I’ve reached out to FEMA to ask about his whereabouts but have not received a response.

After Richardson’s aggressive first staff meeting, he made headlines when he stated in a meeting that he was unaware the United States has a defined hurricane season. In another meeting, he openly admitted that he didn’t know the state of Texas was larger than the country of Spain until his girlfriend, a Texas native, told him. He said he consulted a map to be sure. Richardson has written a novel loosely based on his experience as a Marine in Iraq, and, like former President George W. Bush, enjoys painting.

Since Richardson began his tenure, he’s sent just three staff-wide emails, according to staffers. The last one was sent on June 26th and included extremely vague bullet points about preparing for hurricane season. One bullet was titled “State primacy and coordination” and noted “We continue to strengthen coordination with local jurisdictions in alignment with the President's intent to safeguard the American people, restore primacy to the states, and provide targeted federal assistance when necessary.”

The response to the Texas floods makes clear the commitment to state supremacy, with Texas performing the lion's share of disaster response. While Richardson did not attend Wednesday’s morning meeting, he did attend the second meeting of the FEMA Review Council in the afternoon. According to one staffer who watched the livestream, the group assembled said a prayer for Texas and repeatedly commended Governor Greg Abbott for his leadership during this crisis. Otherwise, the floods were not acknowledged. 

Though an Associated Press story published Wednesday morning might have left a reader with the impression that FEMA has been providing a robust response by deploying first responders and opening disaster recovery centers, the FEMA staffer I spoke with said those have all been state and local-led efforts so far. They found additional issues with the AP’s story, saying that it presents things FEMA would normally do in this situation, but not acknowledging that key pieces are currently missing. Much like a New York Times report from Tuesday, Richardson’s absence in the recovery effort was not mentioned. (Nor was The Handbasket’s original reporting.) Both stories simply accept the premise that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is the one in charge. 

“It feels completely demoralizing, but it is not unexpected,” another FEMA staffer told The Handbasket of Richardson’s absence. “He has clearly shown a lack of regard in disaster response, and a lack of care for communities that suffer through these disasters.” 

The staffer lamented how, under Richardson, Noem and Trump’s leadership, FEMA is failing in its mission to support people before, during, and after a disaster. “The employees at FEMA want to be present and engaged, but we are currently on a sinking ship and the ship captains insist on rearranging the deck chairs over and over again while families drown.”

Deanne Criswell, former FEMA Administrator under President Biden, spoke with Jen Psaki on MSNBC Tuesday evening and expressed concerns about this current administration’s weak response that mirror what multiple current staffers have told me.

“We would typically send out what we call Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams,” Criswell explained. “Individuals that can go out, walk the community door to door, go into places where people are—shelters, churches, community centers—and help people get registered for assistance or understand what their needs are.”

Criswell said these teams also help connect survivors with nonprofits and other non-governmental agencies who can help. “But that program has been stopped, as far as I know,” she said, “and that’s such a critical resource to bring government to the people instead of making people come find the government.”

As floods take over parts of New Mexico, with three people reported dead so far, and flooding from Tropical Storm Chantal wreaks havoc in North Carolina, the message from FEMA leadership is clear: You’re on your own.