I ran FEMA. Here’s why you’re paying for rich people to live on the beach

Published September 15, 2026 12:00pm ET



My new book, Texas Flood: Power, Money, Politics, History, Bureaucracy and Tragedy, is being published Tuesday, and it’s available on Amazon. In it, I discuss why I was sent to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), how I would have shut down or radically transformed the agency, and how I overrode the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the people of Texas received the assistance they needed during one of six major fatal flash floods in American history. 

I also discuss how the federally funded National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) unfairly transfers wealth from around the country to scenic coastal communities along river and ocean shorelines. 

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.