Obama picks Florida’s Fugate to head FEMA
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday tapped Florida emergency manager Craig Fugate to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency, turning to a Republican appointee who has steered the Southern state through numerous hurricanes since 2001.
In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said he plans to nominate Fugate who will help the administration “improve our preparedness, response and recovery efforts.”
Obama said Fugate will travel with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to the Gulf Coast on Thursday to meet with local officials still struggling to recover from 2005 hurricanes.
Fugate, who faces Senate confirmation once he is nominated, has been director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management since 2001, chosen by former Gov. Jeb Bush. He was retained by current Gov. Charlie Crist. Both governors are Republicans.
Before that, Fugate was the agency’s assistant director for more than four years.
Fugate has been praised for helping guide Florida through several devastating hurricanes in the past decade. He was criticized in 2005 for not distributing enough ice, water and other supplies immediately after Hurricane Wilma. Fugate had warned residents before the storm that they should have enough supplies for three days after it passed, but many did not and that overstressed the system.
Napolitano called Fugate one of the most experienced emergency managers in the country.
“The work he’s accomplished in Florida serves as a model for other states,” Napolitano said in a statement. “He will be a tremendous asset to FEMA and it’s employees.”