WASHINGTON (TNND) — The new head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has staff concerned after reportedly telling personnel during a meeting that he was previously unaware that the United States has a hurricane season, which began on Sunday.

David Richardson, who started leading FEMA in May, made the comments during a Monday morning briefing, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. It was not clear whether Richardson was making a joke or meant it literally.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, told CNN that the agency is " laser focused on disaster response and protecting the American people."

Richardson was appointed to lead FEMA after the former acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was fired for publicly going against the Trump administration's intent to eliminate FEMA.

"I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency," Hamilton testified before a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Hamilton was fired for testifying “contrary to the president.”

Richardson has promised to enforce President Donald Trump's agenda. During his first all-hands meeting at FEMA, he told agency staff he "will run right over" anyone who gets in his way.

During the Monday meeting, Richardson also announced that FEMA will not release an updated disaster plan for the 2025 hurricane season, according to CNN. He reportedly said the agency doesn't want to get ahead of Trump's newly formed FEMA Review Council.

After Trump took office in January, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began laying off federal workers to cut wasteful spending.

By February, over 400 employee positions at the Department of Homeland Security had been eliminated, and half of those cuts were from FEMA.

The firings were a result of Musk claiming federal spending on what he called "luxury hotels" for undocumented immigrants, misconduct by employees and proposed changes to FEMA's role and function