Former FEMA Administrator David Richardson Releases “Texas Flood”, an Inside Account of Crisis, Bureaucracy and Leadership

New book reveals the high-stakes decisions behind the federal response to the deadly July 4, 2025 Texas floods and makes the case for sweeping FEMA reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. — September 15, 2026 — David Richardson, the former acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, today announced the release of Texas Flood: 4 July 2025 — Power, Money, Politics, History, Bureaucracy, and Tragedy, a candid firsthand account of the devastating Texas Hill Country floods and the consequential decisions made inside the federal government as the disaster unfolded.

Drawing on his experience at the helm of FEMA, Richardson takes readers behind the scenes of a response shaped not only by tragedy on the ground, but also by bureaucratic obstacles, internal power struggles and competing visions for the future of the nation’s disaster-response agency. The book examines how policies developed in Washington can collide with the urgent realities of an unfolding emergency, when delays are measured not in paperwork but in lives.

“Texas Flood is about what happens when the stakes could not be higher and leaders are forced to make decisions with incomplete information, limited time and human lives hanging in the balance,” said Richardson. “It is also an honest examination of a federal bureaucracy badly in need of reform. The American people deserve a disaster-response system that moves at the speed of the emergency, not the speed of Washington.” said David Richardson

At the center of the book is a Department of Homeland Security policy requiring personal approval for contracts exceeding $100,000. Richardson details how that additional layer of review threatened to impede FEMA’s ability to move resources during a catastrophe whose response costs could reach hundreds of millions of dollars per day. Faced with the urgent needs of Texans, Richardson recounts his decision to move critical support forward despite resistance from DHS headquarters.

A retired Marine Corps officer, Richardson writes that he approached disaster response with the same principle that guides battlefield leadership: when people in danger call for lifesaving support, leaders must act decisively to deliver it. He also explains why he initially remained in Washington, where he believed the greatest operational bottleneck existed, rather than immediately traveling to Texas for a public appearance.

“Leadership is not about getting to the cameras first. It is about identifying the point of friction, removing it and making sure the people on the ground receive what they need,” Richardson said. “Before I went to Texas, I wanted to know that federal assistance was moving and that promises made in Washington were becoming real help for survivors, families and first responders.”

Beyond the Texas floods, Texas Flood offers an unvarnished look at Richardson’s effort to reshape FEMA, reduce waste and return the agency to its core mission. Richardson argues that FEMA had become bloated, inefficient and burdened by layers of bureaucracy that complicated its ability to serve Americans during their worst moments. He makes the case for a leaner, more accountable agency and contends that FEMA should be removed from the Department of Homeland Security and report directly to the president.

The book also chronicles the internal political resistance Richardson encountered while attempting to implement major reforms, as well as his conclusion that the administration’s original plans to dramatically restructure FEMA had changed. When it became clear that his reform proposal would not move forward and that the FEMA Review Council would instead determine the agency’s direction, Richardson decided to leave government following the 2025 hurricane season.

“This book is not an attempt to protect reputations or settle scores,” Richardson added. “It is a record of what happened, why key decisions were made and what America must learn before the next major disaster arrives. Reform cannot be driven by slogans or arbitrary numbers. It must be grounded in FEMA’s mission and focused relentlessly on serving the American people.”

Texas Flood: 4 July 2025 — Power, Money, Politics, History, Bureaucracy, and Tragedy is available beginning September 15, 2026.

To purchase the book or learn more, visit DERichardson.com.

About David Richardson

David Richardson, retired Lt. Colonel, served in the USMC as a ground combat officer and was awarded for valor for sustained leadership in combat (Bronze Star w/Valor Device) during the Battle of Ramadi, 2006. He served twice as the Assistant Secretary for DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction before being asked to nurse the Federal Emergency Management Agency through hurricane season 2025 and then shut it down or drastically reduce its size and increase its efficiency. He was the senior political appointee at FEMA during the tragic flood in Texas during July of 2025. “Texas Flood” is his second book. He is also the author of the novel War Story (Permuted Press 2019). Richardson is also a professional painter, having had multiple exhibitions in New York, Miami, and Sante Fe where he maintains a gallery space.