Leadership shakeup at FEMA raises alarms in Louisiana

The big picture: Cameron Hamilton, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was fired this week, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

• David Richardson is the new acting administrator, effective immediately, CNN is reporting.
• The change came a day after Hamilton told federal lawmakers that he does not support dismantling FEMA, an idea floated by the Trump administration.

What they're saying: "I, and I alone in FEMA, speak for FEMA. I'm here to carry out the president's intent for FEMA," Richardson told FEMA staff Friday, Reuters reported.

Zoom in: "A month before hurricane season hits, Trump is continuing his war against critical disaster aid," U.S. Rep. Troy Carter Sr., a Democrat, wrote in a statement to Axios. "Protecting people and their homes during and after natural disasters shouldn't be partisan."

• He joined fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields last month in sending a letter to President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, expressing "profound concerns" with eliminating aid via FEMA.
• Fields, in an interview Friday with Axios New Orleans, said, "It's unfortunate that we don't have a director at a very vulnerable time, especially for Louisiana."
• It's already a high-stress job, he said, and now the new person will have to factor in "every time they are making a decision if they are going to upset the president."

Zoom out: Louisiana's congressional delegation has called for reform and other changes instead of eliminating the agency.

• "FEMA can't go away," U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican, told reporters earlier this year, according to Politico. "I think the first job of the federal government is to protect people and property."
• U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican, on Friday also reiterated his focus on FEMA's ability to help if needed.
• "The key thing for Louisiana before hurricane season is that FEMA is prepared to assist Louisiana or any other state should a natural disaster strike," he said in a statement to Axios. "The most important question on who heads the agency is their ability to complete this job."

Threat level: Louisiana, Texas and Florida could face the greatest financial burdens in a world with less federal relief assistance, per a new analysis from the Carnegie Disaster Dollar Database.

• Louisiana received an average of about $1.4 billion annually in FEMA and Department of Housing and Urban Development relief funding from 2015 to 2024, covering 14 disasters.

• Louisiana residents also have received the most FEMA direct assistance since 2015, according to Carnegie. Go deeper.

Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it will retire its "billion-dollar weather and climate disasters" database, according to Andrew Freedman at CNN.

• The public database tracked the cost of natural disasters since 1980.

State of play: Trump signed an executive order in March that empowers state and local governments to handle disaster readiness and relief.

• FEMA and other federal agencies already funnel billions of dollars to individuals and communities.
• It's unclear how or whether Trump's order might change that, or if it would result in fewer federal dollars for disaster-wracked states.
• Some FEMA reform advocates call for giving states "block grants" of relief money to spend as they see fit, rather than to meet specific needs — but others worry that would lead to fraud and abuse, or that many states lack the resources and expertise to rebuild without help.

What's next: Hurricane season officially starts June 1, but storms can form any time.

• The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing daily tropical weather outlooks on May 15, a nod to the trend of storms forming earlier in the season.