The former Acting FEMA Administrator resigned abruptly in 2025.
Acting FEMA Director David Richardson told staff in an all-hands meeting that he was unaware hurricane season had started, according to sources familiar.
The funding loss has the city of San Jose delaying new rules requiring retrofits to certain wood-frame apartment buildings that would be vulnerable in an earthquake.
After severe storms hit the state in mid-March, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders applied for disaster relief through FEMA.
"We've gone from the New Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society to a federal government that gives the middle finger to volunteers serving their fellow Americans. We will sue to stop this," said Newsom.
The surprise move is leaving Napa County officials perplexed and disappointed, because it's putting funding for wildfire prevention in jeopardy.