Vacant U.S. Posts Hamper Hurricane Aid as Irma Set to Strike
- Emergency, housing, environmental agencies all lacking people
- Trump administration lags predecessors in making appointments
Trump Says Texas Can Handle Anything
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The Trump administration’s slow pace of appointments has left vacancies in key posts related to emergency response, something that may hamper efforts to help victims of Harvey’s record rainfall and Hurricane Irma’s punishing winds.
Deputies are missing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which spearheads relief in the early days after disasters, and at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which storm victims back into lodgings. The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t have a regional director in Texas whose duties would include responding to Harvey’s inundation of polluted Superfund sites.