President Trump nominated Jeffrey Byard to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Brock Long resigned from the position earlier this week following scrutiny of his travel expenses.
Byard is currently the associate administrator for response and recovery at FEMA.
He’s previously held several positions with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. He led the state’s emergency management operations during Hurricane Gustav and response and recovery operations for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Long officially leaves FEMA on March 8. He has overseen the federal government’s response to natural disasters since June 2017, including wildfires in California, hurricanes Florence and Michael, and the recovery in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
The last year of his tenure was mired in controversy after the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security found he had misused government resources for personal travel. Long was told to repay the government for those expenses.
He was also criticized for the government’s response to Hurricane Maria, which left parts of Puerto Rico without power for months.
