<!DOCTYPE html>
<html dir="ltr" lang="en-US">
	<head>
		<!--
		 ______         __  __       ________       ______        _________       ______     
		/_____/\       /_/\/_/\     /_______/\     /_____/\      /________/\     /_____/\    
		\:::_ \ \      \:\ \:\ \    \::: _  \ \    \:::_ \ \     \__.::.__\/     \:::__\/    
		 \:\ \ \ \_     \:\ \:\ \    \::(_)  \ \    \:(_) ) )_      \::\ \          /: /     
		  \:\ \ /_ \     \:\ \:\ \    \:: __  \ \    \: __ `\ \      \::\ \        /::/___   
		   \:\_-  \ \     \:\_\:\ \    \:.\ \  \ \    \ \ `\ \ \      \::\ \      /_:/____/\ 
		    \___|\_\_/     \_____\/     \__\/\__\/     \_\/ \_\/       \__\/      \_______\/

		!-->
		<meta charset="utf-8"/>
		<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=0, minimum-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0"/>
		<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="Quartz"/>
		<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="black"/>
		<meta name="robots" content="noodp,noydir"/>
		<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=Edge">
		<meta name="bitly-verification" content="3cc1017cee1d"/>
		<meta name="theme-color" content="#000000">
		<meta property="fb:pages" content="444654488901592">
		<title>Hurricane Harvey: The first big hurricane of Trump's presidency will be handled by Obama-era officials — Quartz</title>

		<script>
			var currentDomain = "qz.com";
			var currentPath = "https://app.qz.com";
						window.QZ = {
				bootstrap: {},
				env: { screen: 'desktop' },
				edition: 'global',
				version: '4.0.1118'
			};

			(function(){
				var el = document.createElement('div');
				if( typeof(el.style['mask-image']) !== 'undefined' || typeof(el.style['-webkit-mask-image']) !== 'undefined' ) {
					document.documentElement.className += ' has-mask';
				}
			})();
			
		</script>

        			<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://app.qz.com/css/styles-min.4.0.1118.css"/>
        
		<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=PT+Serif:400,700,400italic">
		<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="https://app.qz.com/img/icons/touch_144.png"/>
		<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="https://app.qz.com/img/icons/touch_114.png"/>
		<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72x72" href="https://app.qz.com/img/icons/touch_72.png"/>
		<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" href="https://app.qz.com/img/icons/touch.png"/>
		<link rel="logo" type="image/svg" href="https://app.qz.com/svg/Qz_Logo.svg"/>
		<link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://app.qz.com/img/icons/favicon.ico"/>
		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="print" href="https://app.qz.com/css/print.css" />
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-320x460.png" media="(device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 480px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 1)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-640x920.png" media="(device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 480px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-640x1096.png" media="(device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 568px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-768x1004.png" media="(device-width: 768px) and (orientation: portrait) and (device-height: 1024px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 1)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-768x1004-landscape.png" media="(device-width: 768px) and (orientation: landscape) and (device-height: 1024px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 1)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-1536x2008.png" media="(device-width: 768px) and (orientation: portrait) and (device-height: 1024px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<link href="https://app.qz.com/img/apple/touch-startup-image-1536x2008-landscape.png" media="(device-width: 768px) and (orientation: landscape) and (device-height: 1024px) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)" rel="apple-touch-startup-image">
		<meta name="google-site-verification" content="Fm_AozADu13Rytwyc4XvQo_081WOanaXLa6xKd8dUgc" />
<meta name="msvalidate.01" content="4B2AFFFDBF9736993D778515CB307FAF" />
<meta name="description" content="Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall on the upper Texas coast Friday night, bringing &quot;life-threatening and devastating&quot; flooding, according to US government warnings. Mandatory evacuation notices have already been issued to residents of several counties. US president Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence are warning Texans to be prepared. &quot;Remember to #planahead!&quot; Trump..."/>
<meta name="author" content="Heather Timmons"/>
<meta property="author" content="Heather Timmons"/>
<meta name="news_keywords" content="planahead, bureaucracy, department of homeland security, DHS, Donald Trump, fema, flooding, General Kelly, hurricane, Hurricane Harvey"/>
<meta property="og:title" content="The first big hurricane of Trump&#8217;s presidency will be managed by Obama-era officials"/>
<meta property="og:type" content="article"/>
<meta property="og:image" content="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1393"/>
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1600"/>
<meta property="og:image:height" content="900"/>
<meta property="og:url" content="https://qz.com/1061829/hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials/"/>
<meta property="og:description" content="Trump is telling Texans to &quot;be prepared,&quot; but the federal government is not as prepared as it could be."/>
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/>
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Quartz"/>
<meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/quartznews"/>
<meta property="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/>
<meta property="twitter:title" content="The first big hurricane of Trump&#8217;s presidency will be managed by Obama-era officials"/>
<meta property="twitter:image" content="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&amp;strip=all&amp;w=800&amp;h=400&amp;crop=1"/>
<meta property="twitter:url" content="https://qz.com/1061829/hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials/"/>
<meta property="twitter:description" content="Trump is telling Texans to &quot;be prepared,&quot; but the federal government is not as prepared as it could be."/>
<meta property="twitter:site" content="@qz"/>
<meta property="twitter:creator" content="@HeathaT"/>
<link rel="shortlink" href="https://qz.com/1061829"><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","name":"The first big hurricane of Trump&#8217;s presidency will be managed by Obama-era officials","headline":"The first big hurricane of Trump&#8217;s presidency will be managed by Obama-era officials","alternativeHeadline":"Trump is telling Texans to \"be prepared,\" but the federal government is not as prepared as it could be..","description":"Trump is telling Texans to \"be prepared,\" but the federal government is not as prepared as it could be.","url":"https:\/\/qz.com\/1061829\/hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials\/","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Heather Timmons","url":"https:\/\/qz.com\/author\/htimmonsqz\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeathaT"]},"creator":["Heather Timmons"],"dateCreated":"2017-08-25T07:00:02+00:00","datePublished":"2017-08-25T07:00:02+00:00","image":"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1024","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all","articleSection":"global","keywords":["#planahead","bureaucracy","department of homeland security","DHS","Donald Trump","fema","flooding","General Kelly","hurricane","Hurricane Harvey","hurricane preparedness","hurricane trump","John Kelly","Mike Pence","National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration","natural disasters","NOAA","trump"],"inLanguage":"en-us","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Quartz","logo":"https:\/\/app.qz.com\/svg\/Qz_Logo.svg","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quartz_(publication)","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/quartznews","https:\/\/twitter.com\/qz"],"url":"https:\/\/qz.com","member":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin J. Delaney","jobTitle":"CEO"}],"memberOf":{"@type":"Corporation","name":"Atlantic Media","founder":{"@type":"Person","name":"David G. Bradley"}},"location":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"New York","addressRegion":"NY"}},"identifier":[{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Topic","value":"Politics and policy"}]}</script>		<script src='https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php?action=js&amp;host=qz.com&amp;id=39587363&amp;t=1518535064&amp;back=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F%3Futm_source' type="text/javascript"></script>
		<script type="text/javascript">
		/* <![CDATA[ */
			if ( 'function' === typeof WPRemoteLogin ) {
				document.cookie = "wordpress_test_cookie=test; path=/";
				if ( document.cookie.match( /(;|^)\s*wordpress_test_cookie\=/ ) ) {
					WPRemoteLogin();
				}
			}
		/* ]]> */
		</script>
		<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s2.wp.com' />
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s0.wp.com' />
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s1.wp.com' />
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//qzprod.wordpress.com' />
	<script type="text/javascript">
		/* <![CDATA[ */
		function addLoadEvent(func) {
			var oldonload = window.onload;
			if (typeof window.onload != 'function') {
				window.onload = func;
			} else {
				window.onload = function () {
					oldonload();
					func();
				}
			}
		}
		/* ]]> */
	</script>
			<script type="text/javascript">
			window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/wpcom-smileys\/twemoji\/2\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/wpcom-smileys\/twemoji\/2\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/s1.wp.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?m=1516999477h&ver=4.9.4"}};
			!function(a,b,c){function d(a,b){var c=String.fromCharCode;l.clearRect(0,0,k.width,k.height),l.fillText(c.apply(this,a),0,0);var d=k.toDataURL();l.clearRect(0,0,k.width,k.height),l.fillText(c.apply(this,b),0,0);var e=k.toDataURL();return d===e}function e(a){var b;if(!l||!l.fillText)return!1;switch(l.textBaseline="top",l.font="600 32px Arial",a){case"flag":return!(b=d([55356,56826,55356,56819],[55356,56826,8203,55356,56819]))&&(b=d([55356,57332,56128,56423,56128,56418,56128,56421,56128,56430,56128,56423,56128,56447],[55356,57332,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56418,8203,56128,56421,8203,56128,56430,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56447]),!b);case"emoji":return b=d([55357,56692,8205,9792,65039],[55357,56692,8203,9792,65039]),!b}return!1}function f(a){var c=b.createElement("script");c.src=a,c.defer=c.type="text/javascript",b.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(c)}var g,h,i,j,k=b.createElement("canvas"),l=k.getContext&&k.getContext("2d");for(j=Array("flag","emoji"),c.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},i=0;i<j.length;i++)c.supports[j[i]]=e(j[i]),c.supports.everything=c.supports.everything&&c.supports[j[i]],"flag"!==j[i]&&(c.supports.everythingExceptFlag=c.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&c.supports[j[i]]);c.supports.everythingExceptFlag=c.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!c.supports.flag,c.DOMReady=!1,c.readyCallback=function(){c.DOMReady=!0},c.supports.everything||(h=function(){c.readyCallback()},b.addEventListener?(b.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",h,!1),a.addEventListener("load",h,!1)):(a.attachEvent("onload",h),b.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function(){"complete"===b.readyState&&c.readyCallback()})),g=c.source||{},g.concatemoji?f(g.concatemoji):g.wpemoji&&g.twemoji&&(f(g.twemoji),f(g.wpemoji)))}(window,document,window._wpemojiSettings);
		</script>
		<style type="text/css">
img.wp-smiley,
img.emoji {
	display: inline !important;
	border: none !important;
	box-shadow: none !important;
	height: 1em !important;
	width: 1em !important;
	margin: 0 .07em !important;
	vertical-align: -0.1em !important;
	background: none !important;
	padding: 0 !important;
}
</style>
<link rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-0-1' href='https://s1.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/widgets/social-icons/social-icons.css?m=1497281131h&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' />
<script type='text/javascript' src='https://s1.wp.com/_static/??-eJyFztEKwjAMBdAfsquTiXsRv6XWOFKXtDbphn69HeiDMBQCgdzDJXZOBtmP5QJiQ517gfx4rybIxv4ChnDITqEh5A/2kRVYF0vxjCOYIpDdUG+16BpXXIqiBCIVraTfLyFPCPNfFkCT8zeTQfC5tJ7o2Hb9Yde3+24bXjRNW9I='></script>
<meta name="generator" content="WordPress.com" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://qz.com/1061829/hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials/" />
<link rel="alternate" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://public-api.wordpress.com/oembed/?format=json&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&amp;for=wpcom-auto-discovery" /><link rel="alternate" type="application/xml+oembed" href="https://public-api.wordpress.com/oembed/?format=xml&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&amp;for=wpcom-auto-discovery" /><link rel='openid.server' href='https://qzprod.wordpress.com/?openidserver=1' />
<link rel='openid.delegate' href='https://qzprod.wordpress.com/' />
<link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://qz.com/osd.xml" title="Quartz" />
<link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://s1.wp.com/opensearch.xml" title="WordPress.com" />
<meta name="application-name" content="Quartz" /><meta name="msapplication-window" content="width=device-width;height=device-height" /><meta name="msapplication-tooltip" content="Quartz is a digitally native news outlet for the new global economy." /><meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Subscribe;action-uri=https://qz.com/feed/;icon-uri=https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/7fd9e2ee486de5ce0c713891ec823ea6?s=16" /><link rel="amphtml" href="https://qz.com/1061829/hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials/amp/" /><style type="text/css" id="syntaxhighlighteranchor"></style>
    </head>
	<body class="post-template-default single single-post postid-1061829 single-format-standard mp6 customizer-styles-applied highlander-enabled highlander-light">
	<div id="marquee">
		<div id="marquee-content"></div>
	</div>
	<header id="header" class="">
	<div class="logo">
		<a href="https://qz.com" title="Quartz" id="qz-logo">
			<!--[if gte IE 10]><!-->
<!-- QUARTZ LOGO -->
<svg version="1.1" id="Layer_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px"
	 width="160px" height="25px" fill="" viewBox="0 0 160 25" enable-background="new 0 0 160 25" xml:space="preserve">
	<g>
		<g>
			<path d="M21.852,19.584c1.479-2.008,2.356-4.488,2.356-7.173c0-6.682-5.442-12.123-12.124-12.123
				c-6.686,0-12.123,5.441-12.123,12.123c0,6.687,5.438,12.124,12.123,12.124c2.628,0,5.065-0.84,7.054-2.271l3.038,3.039
				l2.699-2.695L21.852,19.584z M19.109,16.842l-4.479-4.479l-2.694,2.699l4.455,4.456c-1.259,0.763-2.732,1.201-4.307,1.201
				c-4.583,0-8.308-3.725-8.308-8.308c0-4.579,3.725-8.308,8.308-8.308c4.578,0,8.308,3.729,8.308,8.308
				C20.392,14.037,19.92,15.559,19.109,16.842z"/>
		</g>
		<g>
			<polygon points="133.62,0.889 133.62,4.743 126.411,4.743 126.411,24.017 122.507,24.017 122.507,4.743 115.299,4.743 
				115.299,0.889 		"/>
		</g>
		<g>
			<path d="M73.351,0.889h-4.688L59.75,24.017h4.091l1.67-4.506h10.992l1.669,4.506h4.093L73.351,0.889z M66.998,15.906l4.011-10.439
				l4.006,10.439H66.998z"/>
		</g>
		<g>
			<polygon points="160.052,4.743 147.123,20.111 160.052,20.111 160.052,24.017 142.031,24.017 142.031,19.908 155.006,4.743 
				142.932,4.743 142.932,0.927 160.052,0.927 		"/>
		</g>
		<g>
			<path d="M52.19,0.889v14.632c0,4.96-4.03,8.995-8.99,8.995s-8.995-4.035-8.995-8.995V0.889h3.901v14.632
				c-0.086,2.856,2.236,5.18,5.094,5.18c2.853,0,5.175-2.323,5.119-5.18V0.889H52.19z"/>
		</g>
		<g>
			<path d="M102.612,16.184c2.653-1.321,4.47-4.044,4.47-7.183c0-4.239-3.496-8.026-7.849-8.112h-8.564v23.128h3.905v-6.966h3.537
				l8.05,8.156l2.713-2.681L102.612,16.184z M98.949,13.236h-4.375v-8.47h4.375c2.381,0,4.317,1.898,4.317,4.235
				C103.267,11.338,101.33,13.236,98.949,13.236z"/>
		</g>
	</g>
</svg>
<!-- /QUARTZ LOGO -->

<!--<![endif]-->			<span class="header-edition"></span>
		</a>
	</div>
	<div class="right">
		<button id="avatar" class="header-button">
			<i class="icon-more"></i>
		</button>
		<button class="menu header-button">
			<i class="icon-more"></i>
		</button>
		<a href="https://qz.com/search/" class="search header-button">
			<i class="icon-search"></i>
		</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/obsessions/" class="obsessions header-button">
			obsessions
		</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/newsletters/daily-brief/" class="dbsignup header-button"><i class="icon-daily-brief"></i></a>
	</div>
	<div id="header-search-input"></div>
	<div class="left">
		<a href="https://qz.com/search/" class="search header-button">
			<i class="icon-search"></i>
		</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/top/" class="top header-button">
			our picks
		</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/latest/" class="latest header-button">
			latest
		</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/popular/" class="popular header-button">
			popular
		</a>
		<a href="https://www.facebook.com/quartznews" class="fb header-button" target="_blank"><i class="icon-facebook"></i></a>
		<a href="https://twitter.com/qz" class="twitter header-button" target="_blank"><i class="icon-twitter"></i></a>
	</div>
</header>
<div id="settings-nav-bg"></div>
<nav id="settingsNav" class="no-animation ">
	<div class="upper">
		<a href="https://work.qz.com" class="qz-at-work"><i class="icon-q"></i>quartz at work</a>
		<a href="https://www.facebook.com/quartznews" class="fb" target="_blank"><i class="icon-facebook"></i>like us on facebook</a>
		<a href="https://www.twitter.com/qz" class="twitter" target="_blank"><i class="icon-twitter"></i>follow us on twitter</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/about/" class="about-us"><i class="icon-about"></i>about us</a>
		<a href="https://quartzy.qz.com" class="qzy"><i class="icon-qzy"></i>quartzy</a>
		<a href="https://www.theatlas.com" class="atlas"><i class="icon-atlas"></i>Atlas</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/index/" class="quartz-index"><i class="icon-index"></i>quartz index</a>
		<a href="https://qz.com/app/" class="qz-app"><i class="icon-app"></i>quartz app</a>
	</div>
	<div class="lower">
		<a href="https://qz.com/global/"><i class="icon-global"></i>quartz</a>
					<a href="https://qz.com/india/ ">
				<i class="icon-india"></i>
				quartz India			</a>
					<a href="https://qz.com/africa/ ">
				<i class="icon-africa"></i>
				quartz Africa			</a>
			</div>
	<button class="navigation-toggle">
		<span class="edition-text icon-down-arrow">Change your edition</span>
		<span class="menu-text icon-down-arrow">back to menu</span>
	</button>
</nav>
	<div id="container">
<div id="content"><div id="content-header" data-disable-attach="true">
	</div>
<div id="content-articles" data-disable-attach="true">
	<div id="well"><article id="item-1061829" class="item global article has-hero" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/NewsArticle">
<header class="item-header content-width-responsive">
			<span class="kicker">#PLANAHEAD</span>
		<h1 itemprop="headline">The first big hurricane of Trump&#8217;s presidency will be managed by Obama-era officials</h1>	<div class="item-meta-mobile"><div class="byline item-meta-row">
	<h5>Written by</h5>

	
		
			
			<a href="https://qz.com/author/htimmonsqz/" class="author-name" data-index="0" itemprop="author">Heather Timmons</a>

			
			
			
		
		
	</div>



<div class="item-timestamp item-meta-row">

			<span class="timestamp" itemprop="datePublished">August 25, 2017</span>
	
	
</div>
</div>
</header>
<figure class="progressive-image featured-image size-extra-large ">
	<picture style="padding-bottom: 56.353194544149%; background-image: url(https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=50);">
		<img src="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&#038;strip=all&#038;w=50" class="progressive-image-thumbnail">
		<img data-srcset="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=320 320w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=940 940w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600 1600w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=3200 3200w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 320px, (max-width: 640px) 640px, (max-width: 940px) 940px, 100vw" data-src="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1393" class="progressive-image-large" alt="Hurricane Harvey is seen in the Texas Gulf Coast, U.S., in this NOAA GOES satellite  image on August 24, 2017.  NOAA/Handout via Reuters   THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - RTS1D7AP" title=""/>
		<noscript>
			<img itemprop="image" src="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&#038;strip=all&#038;w=320" alt="Hurricane Harvey is seen in the Texas Gulf Coast, U.S., in this NOAA GOES satellite  image on August 24, 2017.  NOAA/Handout via Reuters   THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - RTS1D7AP" title="">
		</noscript>
	</picture>
	<figcaption class="featured-image-caption">
		<div class="content-width-responsive">
			<i class="icon-camera"></i>On its way.					</div>
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<div class="item-content ">
	<div class="item-meta">
		<div class="share-buttons colored item-meta-row">
			<h5>Share</h5>
				 <a title="Share on twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829&#038;text=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&#038;via=qz" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-twitter"></a>
	 <a title="Share on facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&#038;caption=qz.com%20%7C%20By%20Heather%20Timmons" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-facebook"></a>
	 <a title="Share on linkedin" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&#038;title=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&#038;summary=Hurricane%20Harvey%20is%20expected%20to%20make%20landfall%20on%20the%20upper%20Texas%20coast%20Friday%20night%2C%20bringing%20%E2%80%9Clife-threatening%20and%20devastating%E2%80%9D%20flooding%2C%20according%20to%20US%20government%20warnings.%20Mandatory%E2%80%A6&#038;source=Quartz" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-linkedin"></a>
	 <a title="Share on email" href="mailto:?subject=Quartz%3A%20The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&#038;body=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F%0A%0AHurricane%20Harvey%20is%20expected%20to%20make%20landfall%20on%20the%20upper%20Texas%20coast%20Friday%20night%2C%20bringing%20%E2%80%9Clife-threatening%20and%20devastating%E2%80%9D%20flooding%2C%20according%20to%20US%20government%20warnings.%20Mandatory%E2%80%A6%0A%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20Quartz%20Daily%20Brief%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fquartzdailybrief." target="_blank" class="share-action icon-email"></a>
	 <a title="Share on whatsapp" href="whatsapp://send?text=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-whatsapp"></a>
		</div>
		<div class="byline item-meta-row">
	<h5>Written by</h5>

	
		
			
			<a href="https://qz.com/author/htimmonsqz/" class="author-name" data-index="0" itemprop="author">Heather Timmons</a>

			
			
			
		
		
	</div>



<div class="item-timestamp item-meta-row">

			<span class="timestamp" itemprop="datePublished">August 25, 2017</span>
	
	
</div>
	</div>
	<div class="item-body" itemprop="articleBody">
		<div>
			
<p>Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall on the upper Texas coast <a href="https://qz.com/1062300/hurricane-harvey-what-is-the-path-and-when-will-it-hit/">Friday night</a>, bringing &ldquo;life-threatening and devastating&rdquo; flooding, according to US government warnings. Mandatory evacuation notices have already been issued to residents of <a href="http://abc13.com/traffic/evacuation-orders-issued-in-advance-of-hurricane-harvey/2337616/">several counties</a>.</p>
<p>US president Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence are warning Texans to be prepared. &ldquo;Remember to #planahead!&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/900802642779267077">Trump tweeted</a>, with a video of him striding through the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which handles the US&rsquo;s natural disasters, then seated at a long table talking to officials. Pence <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/900805634895089664">retweeted the message</a>, adding that those in the path of the hurricane should check the National Weather Service&rsquo;s Twitter feed.</p>
<p>The Trump White House has not done much to prepare for the storm, however. Two of the three politically appointed positions in the over-9,000-employee FEMA have yet to be filled by Trump appointees; the same goes with the top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors storms. Even the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, doesn&rsquo;t have a permanent secretary, after John F. Kelly left to become White House chief of staff on July 31.</p>
<div class="inline-ad" id="inline-1061829-1"></div><p>Trump did make nominees to the two empty top FEMA jobs, deputy administrator and deputy administrator for protection and national preparedness, on July 19. Presidential nominees need to be confirmed by the Senate, however, and that was just before the Senate&rsquo;s August recess. Instead holdovers from Barack Obama&rsquo;s presidency, <a href="https://www.fema.gov/david-grant">David Grant</a>, and <a href="https://www.fema.gov/kathleen-mcdonald-fox">Kathleen Fox</a>, are holding the jobs.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Federal civilian employees with decades of experience are currently serving as acting in those positions,&rdquo; a FEMA spokesperson said. &ldquo;Throughout the transition to the new administration, FEMA has ensured that career civilian staff are in place in key positions throughout the agency.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Many of these FEMA officials, who are crucial to responding to a hurricane, are &ldquo;acting&rdquo; officials. They include the heads of the &ldquo;Office of Response and Recovery&rdquo; and of &ldquo;Mission Support.&rdquo; In fact, all of officials below with an (A) after their name are &ldquo;acting&rdquo; officials.</p>
<figure id="image-1061866" class="progressive-image inline-image  aligncenter zoomable size-medium"><picture style="padding-bottom: 74.311926605505%; background-image: url(https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=50);"><img src="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=50" class="progressive-image-thumbnail"><img data-srcset="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=320 320w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=640 640w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=940 940w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=1600 1600w, https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=3200 3200w" data-src="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=872" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 320px, 640px" class="progressive-image-large" alt="Screen Shot 2017-08-24 at 5.02.27 PM"></picture><figcaption class="inline-image-caption"><i class="icon-camera"></i><span class="inline-image-credit has-space"> (FEMA.org)</span></figcaption></figure><p>The president has also not nominated anyone to run the 11,000-employee National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is in charge of the<a href="http://www.weather.gov/"> national weather service</a>, and of <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/">monitoring how quickly</a> storms like Harvey travel and where they are expected to make landfall.</p>
<p>Because there is no head of the NOAA to name permanent officials within it, all the top positions in the agency are filled by &ldquo;acting&rdquo; officials, including the nation&rsquo;s most important scientist during such storms: assistant secretary for environmental observation and prediction <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/leadership/stephen-volz">Stephen Volz</a>. Volz <a href="http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2014/20140929_volz.html">joined NOAA in 2014</a>.</p>
<p>There&rsquo;s no reason to believe an &ldquo;acting&rdquo; official would be any less expert at handling a disaster than a permanent one, but it is unclear whether these temporary managers have had the authority to make improvements or changes in the eight months since Trump took office. The failure to fill top disaster preparedness jobs is part of the administration&rsquo;s overall whittling away at US government bureaucracy. Eight months after the inauguration, the Trump administration has yet to nominate people to fill 368 out of 591 total positions that require Senate approval, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/">according to a Washington Post tally </a>(paywall). Trump&rsquo;s proposed budget would also trim funding for both FEMA and NOAA.</p>
<div class="inline-ad" id="inline-1061829-2"></div><p>When asked about the administration&rsquo;s hurricane preparedness today, White House press secretary <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/08/24/press-briefing-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-august-24-2017-6">Sarah Sanders said</a>, &ldquo;I think we are in great shape, having general Kelly sitting next to the president throughout this process.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Read next: <a href="https://qz.com/1062300/hurricane-harvey-what-is-the-path-and-when-will-it-hit/">Where and when Hurricane Harvey could strike this weekend</a></strong></p>
<p><em>This article originally stated incorrectly that the Department of Homeland Security oversees both FEMA and NOAA. NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce.</em></p>
			<div class="article-aside">
									<aside class="popular-stories-module">
  <article>
    <h4 class="module-title">Most Popular</h4>
          <figure class="popular-module-featured-image">
        <a href="https://qz.com/1205473/sea-level-rise-is-accelerating-every-year-like-a-driver-merging-onto-a-highway/" title="Sea level rise is accelerating every year, “like a driver merging onto a highway”">
          <img src="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/sea-level-rise-e1518473539448.jpg?quality=80&#038;strip=all&#038;w=240" alt="Coastal regions—like Louisiana, pictured here—will be hardest hit.">
        </a>
      </figure>
        <h3><a href="https://qz.com/1205473/sea-level-rise-is-accelerating-every-year-like-a-driver-merging-onto-a-highway/" title="Sea level rise is accelerating every year, “like a driver merging onto a highway”">Sea level rise is accelerating every year, “like a driver merging onto a highway”</a></h3>
  </article>
</aside>
							</div>
		</div>
		<div class="item-share-tools article-footer">
			<div class="short-url">
				<input type="text" name="shortURL" value="https://qz.com/1061829"/>
			</div>
			<div class="share-buttons colored">
					 <a title="Share on twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829&#038;text=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&#038;via=qz" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-twitter"></a>
	 <a title="Share on facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&#038;caption=qz.com%20%7C%20By%20Heather%20Timmons" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-facebook"></a>
	 <a title="Share on linkedin" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&#038;title=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&#038;summary=Hurricane%20Harvey%20is%20expected%20to%20make%20landfall%20on%20the%20upper%20Texas%20coast%20Friday%20night%2C%20bringing%20%E2%80%9Clife-threatening%20and%20devastating%E2%80%9D%20flooding%2C%20according%20to%20US%20government%20warnings.%20Mandatory%E2%80%A6&#038;source=Quartz" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-linkedin"></a>
	 <a title="Share on email" href="mailto:?subject=Quartz%3A%20The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&#038;body=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F%0A%0AHurricane%20Harvey%20is%20expected%20to%20make%20landfall%20on%20the%20upper%20Texas%20coast%20Friday%20night%2C%20bringing%20%E2%80%9Clife-threatening%20and%20devastating%E2%80%9D%20flooding%2C%20according%20to%20US%20government%20warnings.%20Mandatory%E2%80%A6%0A%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20Quartz%20Daily%20Brief%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fquartzdailybrief." target="_blank" class="share-action icon-email"></a>
	 <a title="Share on whatsapp" href="whatsapp://send?text=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F" target="_blank" class="share-action icon-whatsapp"></a>
			</div>
		</div>
		<button class="read-full-story-button">Read full story</button>
	</div>
	<div class="article-annotations"></div>
</div>
<div class="after-article"></div>
<div id="engage-1061829"></div>
</article></div></div></div></div>
<div id="modal">
	</div>
<div id="chyron"></div>
<div id="tab-bar">
	<a href="https://qz.com" class="tab home"><i class="icon-q"></i>home</a>
	<a href="https://qz.com/top/" class="tab top"><i class="icon-star"></i>our picks</a>
	<a href="https://qz.com/popular/" class="tab popular"><i class="icon-most-popular"></i>popular</a>
	<a href="https://qz.com/latest/" class="tab latest"><i class="icon-latest"></i>latest</a>
	<a href="https://qz.com/obsessions/" class="tab obsessions"><i class="icon-obsessions"></i>obsessions</a>
	<a href="https://qz.com/search/" class="tab search"><i class="icon-search"></i>search</a>
</div><!-- wpcom_wp_footer -->
			<script>
				( function(){

					// Check if cookies are enabled
					// @see http://sveinbjorn.org/cookiecheck
					var cookieEnabled = (navigator.cookieEnabled) ? true : false;

					if (typeof navigator.cookieEnabled == "undefined" && !cookieEnabled){ 
						document.cookie="testcookie";
						cookieEnabled = (document.cookie.indexOf("testcookie") != -1) ? true : false;
					}
					
					if( ! cookieEnabled )
						return;
					
					// Set cookie with test condition
					document.cookie = "pc2_see_more_module_2018_02" + '=' + "exposed" + '; expires=' + "Wed, 13 Feb 2019 15:17:44 +0000" + '; path=/';
					
				})();
			</script>
		<script type='text/javascript'>
/* <![CDATA[ */
var wpcomVipAnalytics = {"is_404":"0","is_home":"0","is_single":"1","is_front_page":"0","is_archive":"0","percentToTrack":"1"};
/* ]]> */
</script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='https://s0.wp.com/_static/??-eJyVjUsOAjEMQy9ECL+CWCDOEtoI2mkzQ9IO4vaUDSuExMqWZfvhYwI/SmWpWBpMuV2jGOY4sOG9ceMbScisy2QL/F7ewBwnTIZdgITys0ZvPwYUShS4kGIhq6zdwTizagyd+sn+fKhKfnhjz+W0dqvj9rBze5dexilTlw=='></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
(function() {
try{
  if ( window.external &&'msIsSiteMode' in window.external) {
    if (window.external.msIsSiteMode()) {
      var jl = document.createElement('script');
      jl.type='text/javascript';
      jl.async=true;
      jl.src='/wp-content/plugins/ie-sitemode/custom-jumplist.php';
      var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
      s.parentNode.insertBefore(jl, s);
    }
  }
}catch(e){}
})();
// ]]>
</script><script src="//stats.wp.com/w.js?56" type="text/javascript" async defer></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
_tkq = window._tkq || [];
_stq = window._stq || [];
_tkq.push(['storeContext', {'blog_id':'39587363','blog_tz':'-5','user_lang':'en','blog_lang':'en','user_id':'0'}]);
_stq.push(['view', {'blog':'39587363','v':'wpcom','tz':'-5','user_id':'0','post':'1061829','subd':'qzprod'}]);
function st_vt() {var x=document.createElement("img");x.src="https://pixel.wp.com/g.gif?blog=39587363&v=wpcomvt&tz=-5&user_id=0&post=1061829&subd=qzprod&rand="+Math.random();}
_stq.push(['extra', {'crypt':'UE40eW5QN0p8M2Y/RE1BNmNJfGhxNCVxUDExYmtib2E/SzdEJm0lUEtbdFU0fFk4cHZvcUFrZT90Tn4yQm1+R3NyNTdEfC1rZmVUMy9QNXhLa2dIP0wvZ2RNYSV+S1VzM2gtT0J4Rk5OX3AzcmJocHpxMWVqLlIvUUNoUjY1anNWZzV8Y3d0R3Q5P2p4aEFBM3FyK3crZmJiRzZRWG9CVyV1S1t4XXlNelI9NVZiUkF0NWZUaXQ0c2F+Ky5hLVltQjhJb1RfbU4vXXFuSEd5TythSkMySFdVZmIwZm1BbG9lOExQci92JiVkZURPWg=='}]);
_stq.push([ 'clickTrackerInit', '39587363', '1061829' ]);
	</script>
<noscript><img src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" style="height:0px;width:0px;overflow:hidden" alt="" /></noscript>
<script>
if ( 'object' === typeof wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info ) {

	wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.init();
	var mobileStatsQueryString = "";
	
	if( false !== wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedPlatformName )
		mobileStatsQueryString += "&x_" + 'mobile_platforms' + '=' + wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedPlatformName;
	
	if( false !== wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedUserAgentName )
		mobileStatsQueryString += "&x_" + 'mobile_devices' + '=' + wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedUserAgentName;
	
	if( wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.isIPad() )
		mobileStatsQueryString += "&x_" + 'ipad_views' + '=' + 'views';

	if( "" != mobileStatsQueryString ) {
		new Image().src = document.location.protocol + '//pixel.wp.com/g.gif?v=wpcom-no-pv' + mobileStatsQueryString + '&baba=' + Math.random();
	}
	
}
</script><script>
	QZ.splitTests = {"test1":{"name":"pc2_see_more_module_2018_02","group":"exposed"}};
	QZ.editions = ["global","india","africa"];
	QZ.geolocation = 'global';
	QZ.bootstrap = {"https:\/\/qz.com\/api\/article\/1061829\/":{"version":3,"header":{"name":"Article","path":"article\/1061829\/","slug":"article","type":"article"},"items":[{"id":1061829,"title":"The first big hurricane of Trump&#8217;s presidency will be managed by Obama-era officials","slug":"hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials","permalink":"https:\/\/qz.com\/1061829\/hurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials\/","date":{"published":"2017-08-25 11:00:02","updated":"2017-08-26 14:33:41","pretty":"August 25, 2017"},"postType":"article","summary":"Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall on the upper Texas coast Friday night, bringing &#8220;life-threatening and devastating&#8221; flooding, according to US government warnings. Mandatory&hellip;","inlineAds":["inline-1061829-1","inline-1061829-2"],"content":"\n<p>Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall on the upper Texas coast <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1062300\/hurricane-harvey-what-is-the-path-and-when-will-it-hit\/\">Friday night<\/a>, bringing &ldquo;life-threatening and devastating&rdquo; flooding, according to US government warnings. Mandatory evacuation notices have already been issued to residents of <a href=\"http:\/\/abc13.com\/traffic\/evacuation-orders-issued-in-advance-of-hurricane-harvey\/2337616\/\">several counties<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>US president Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence are warning Texans to be prepared. &ldquo;Remember to #planahead!&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/900802642779267077\">Trump tweeted<\/a>, with a video of him striding through the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which handles the US&rsquo;s natural disasters, then seated at a long table talking to officials. Pence <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VP\/status\/900805634895089664\">retweeted the message<\/a>, adding that those in the path of the hurricane should check the National Weather Service&rsquo;s Twitter feed.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump White House has not done much to prepare for the storm, however. Two of the three politically appointed positions in the over-9,000-employee FEMA have yet to be filled by Trump appointees; the same goes with the top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors storms. Even the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, doesn&rsquo;t have a permanent secretary, after John F. Kelly left to become White House chief of staff on July 31.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-ad\" id=\"inline-1061829-1\"><\/div><p>Trump did make nominees to the two empty top FEMA jobs, deputy administrator and deputy administrator for protection and national preparedness, on July 19. Presidential nominees need to be confirmed by the Senate, however, and that was just before the Senate&rsquo;s August recess. Instead holdovers from Barack Obama&rsquo;s presidency, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/david-grant\">David Grant<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/kathleen-mcdonald-fox\">Kathleen Fox<\/a>, are holding the jobs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Federal civilian employees with decades of experience are currently serving as acting in those positions,&rdquo; a FEMA spokesperson said. &ldquo;Throughout the transition to the new administration, FEMA has ensured that career civilian staff are in place in key positions throughout the agency.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Many of these FEMA officials, who are crucial to responding to a hurricane, are &ldquo;acting&rdquo; officials. They include the heads of the &ldquo;Office of Response and Recovery&rdquo; and of &ldquo;Mission Support.&rdquo; In fact, all of officials below with an (A) after their name are &ldquo;acting&rdquo; officials.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"image-1061866\" class=\"progressive-image inline-image  aligncenter zoomable size-medium\"><picture style=\"padding-bottom: 74.311926605505%; background-image: url(https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=50);\"><img src=\"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=50\" class=\"progressive-image-thumbnail\"><img data-srcset=\"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=320 320w, https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=640 640w, https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=940 940w, https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=3200 3200w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/screen-shot-2017-08-24-at-5-02-27-pm.png?w=872\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 320px, 640px\" class=\"progressive-image-large\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2017-08-24 at 5.02.27 PM\"><\/picture><figcaption class=\"inline-image-caption\"><i class=\"icon-camera\"><\/i><span class=\"inline-image-credit has-space\"> (FEMA.org)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><p>The president has also not nominated anyone to run the 11,000-employee National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is in charge of the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.weather.gov\/\"> national weather service<\/a>, and of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhc.noaa.gov\/\">monitoring how quickly<\/a> storms like Harvey travel and where they are expected to make landfall.<\/p>\n<p>Because there is no head of the NOAA to name permanent officials within it, all the top positions in the agency are filled by &ldquo;acting&rdquo; officials, including the nation&rsquo;s most important scientist during such storms: assistant secretary for environmental observation and prediction <a href=\"http:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/leadership\/stephen-volz\">Stephen Volz<\/a>. Volz <a href=\"http:\/\/www.noaanews.noaa.gov\/stories2014\/20140929_volz.html\">joined NOAA in 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There&rsquo;s no reason to believe an &ldquo;acting&rdquo; official would be any less expert at handling a disaster than a permanent one, but it is unclear whether these temporary managers have had the authority to make improvements or changes in the eight months since Trump took office. The failure to fill top disaster preparedness jobs is part of the administration&rsquo;s overall whittling away at US government bureaucracy. Eight months after the inauguration, the Trump administration has yet to nominate people to fill 368 out of 591 total positions that require Senate approval, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/politics\/trump-administration-appointee-tracker\/database\/\">according to a Washington Post tally <\/a>(paywall). Trump&rsquo;s proposed budget would also trim funding for both FEMA and NOAA.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-ad\" id=\"inline-1061829-2\"><\/div><p>When asked about the administration&rsquo;s hurricane preparedness today, White House press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/the-press-office\/2017\/08\/24\/press-briefing-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-august-24-2017-6\">Sarah Sanders said<\/a>, &ldquo;I think we are in great shape, having general Kelly sitting next to the president throughout this process.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read next: <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1062300\/hurricane-harvey-what-is-the-path-and-when-will-it-hit\/\">Where and when Hurricane Harvey could strike this weekend<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>This article originally stated incorrectly that the Department of Homeland Security oversees both FEMA and NOAA. NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce.<\/em><\/p>\n","hero":{"id":1061920,"alt":"Hurricane Harvey is seen in the Texas Gulf Coast, U.S., in this NOAA GOES satellite  image on August 24, 2017.  NOAA\/Handout via Reuters   THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - RTS1D7AP","caption":"On its way.","credit":"","width":1393,"height":785,"aspectRatio":1.7745222929936,"url":"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/rts1d7ap-e1503611657204.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1393","size":"extra-large"},"kicker":"#PLANAHEAD","seoTitle":"Hurricane Harvey: The first big hurricane of Trump&#039;s presidency will be handled by Obama-era officials","facebookDescription":"Trump is telling Texans to &quot;be prepared,&quot; but the federal government is not as prepared as it could be.","edition":"global","taxonomies":{"obsession":[],"tags":[{"name":"#planahead","slug":"planahead"},{"name":"bureaucracy","slug":"bureaucracy"},{"name":"department of homeland security","slug":"department-of-homeland-security"},{"name":"DHS","slug":"dhs"},{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump"},{"name":"fema","slug":"fema"},{"name":"flooding","slug":"flooding"},{"name":"General Kelly","slug":"general-kelly"},{"name":"hurricane","slug":"hurricane"},{"name":"Hurricane Harvey","slug":"hurricane-harvey"},{"name":"hurricane preparedness","slug":"hurricane-preparedness"},{"name":"hurricane trump","slug":"hurricane-trump"},{"name":"John Kelly","slug":"john-kelly"},{"name":"Mike Pence","slug":"mike-pence"},{"name":"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration","slug":"national-oceanic-and-atmospheric-administration"},{"name":"natural disasters","slug":"natural-disasters"},{"name":"NOAA","slug":"noaa"},{"name":"trump","slug":"trump"}],"qz_series":[],"topic":[{"name":"Politics and policy","slug":"politics-and-policy"}]},"byline":{"authors":[{"name":"Heather Timmons","username":"htimmonsqz","url":"https:\/\/qz.com\/author\/htimmonsqz\/","twitter":"HeathaT"}],"type":"author","label":"Written by"},"share":{"twitter":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829&text=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&via=qz","facebook":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&caption=qz.com%20%7C%20By%20Heather%20Timmons","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F&title=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&summary=Hurricane%20Harvey%20is%20expected%20to%20make%20landfall%20on%20the%20upper%20Texas%20coast%20Friday%20night%2C%20bringing%20%E2%80%9Clife-threatening%20and%20devastating%E2%80%9D%20flooding%2C%20according%20to%20US%20government%20warnings.%20Mandatory%E2%80%A6&source=Quartz","email":"mailto:?subject=Quartz%3A%20The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials&body=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F%0A%0AHurricane%20Harvey%20is%20expected%20to%20make%20landfall%20on%20the%20upper%20Texas%20coast%20Friday%20night%2C%20bringing%20%E2%80%9Clife-threatening%20and%20devastating%E2%80%9D%20flooding%2C%20according%20to%20US%20government%20warnings.%20Mandatory%E2%80%A6%0A%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20Quartz%20Daily%20Brief%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fquartzdailybrief.","whatsapp":"whatsapp:\/\/send?text=The%20first%20big%20hurricane%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20presidency%20will%20be%20managed%20by%20Obama-era%20officials%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1061829%2Fhurricane-harvey-the-first-big-hurricane-of-trumps-presidency-will-be-handled-by-obama-officials%2F"},"peer39":[9736,19680,1908,9391,9475,9389,9390,9357,9521,9506,9504,9522,9519,9507,9597,9369,22057,18899]}]}};
	QZ.preview = 0;
	QZ.bulletinPosition = 2;
	QZ.inlinePreview = false;
</script>

<script data-main="https://app.qz.com/dist/4.0.1118/js/app" src="https://app.qz.com/js/libs/require.min.js"></script>
<script>
	// DFP
	(function() {
		var gads = document.createElement("script");
		gads.async = true;
		gads.type = "text/javascript";
		gads.src = "https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js";
		var node =document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
		node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node);
	})();

	// Chartbeat
	var _sf_async_config = {
				uid: 55570
	};
	(function(){
		function loadChartbeat() {
			window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime();
			var e = document.createElement('script');
			e.setAttribute('src', 'https://a248.e.akamai.net/chartbeat.download.akamai.com/102508/js/chartbeat.js');
			document.body.appendChild(e);
		}
		var oldonload = window.onload;
		window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ?
		loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); };
	})();

	// Bizo
	var _bizo_data_partner_id = "1016";
	(function(){
		var b,a,u;a=document.createElement("script");
		a.type="text/javascript"; a.async=true;
		u="https://sjs.bizographics.com/insight.min.js";
		a.src=u; b=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
		return b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b);
	})();

	// Comscore
	var _comscore = _comscore || [];
	_comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "6463921" });
	(function() {
		var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
		s.async = true;
		s.src = "https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js";
		el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
	})();

	// Facebook
	!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){
		if(f.fbq) return;
		n=f.fbq=function(){
			n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)
		};
		if(!f._fbq) f._fbq=n;
		n.push=n; n.loaded=!0;
		n.version='2.0';
		n.queue=[];
		t=b.createElement(e); t.async=!0;
		t.src=v; s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
		s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)
	}(window, document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');

	fbq('init', '1416115438681460'); 
	fbq('trackCustom', 'PixelInitialized', {}); 

	
</script>
<noscript>
	<!--	comScore	-->
	<img src="https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6463921&c3=&c4=&c5=&c6=&c15=&cj=1" />
	<!--	Facebook	-->
	<img height="1" width="1" alt="" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1416115438681460&ev=PixelInitialized" />
</noscript>

<!-- Parse.ly -->
<!-- START Parse.ly Include: Standard -->
<div id="parsely-root" style="display: none">
	<div id="parsely-cfg" data-parsely-site="qz.com"></div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(s, p, d) {
	var i=p+"-"+s,
			e=d.getElementById(i), r=d.getElementById(p+"-root"),
			u="https://d1z2jf7jlzjs58.cloudfront.net/p.js";
	if (e) return;
	e = d.createElement(s); e.id = i; e.async = true;
	e.src = u; r.appendChild(e);
})("script", "parsely", document);
</script>
<!-- END Parse.ly Include -->
<div style="display:none">
	<!-- Lotame -->
	<img src="https://bcp.crwdcntrl.net/5/c=4861/b=35885723" />
	<!-- Sonobi -->
	<img src="https://xcp.go.sonobi.com/px.gif?pxid=04c9085bedf9ad0e7d85" />
</div>
</body>
</html>