The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
An office of emergency management (OEM) is a local, municipal, tribal, state, federal/national, or international organization responsible for: planning for, responding to, and dealing with recovery efforts related to natural, manmade, technological, or otherwise hazardous disasters by planning and implementing large scale emergency response plans/procedures, coordinating emergency assets during a disaster, and providing logistical, administrative and financial support to a disaster response effort.
Robert David Paulison is an American former fire chief who served as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Paulison was appointed by President George W. Bush on September 12, 2005, to replace the embattled Michael D. Brown, who resigned amid controversy over his handling of disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to his appointment, Paulison was perhaps best known nationally for his 2003 advisory regarding household items to have on hand in case of terrorist attack. At the 2009 National Hurricane Conference, he announced he would resign January 21, 2009.
Harvey Elwood Johnson Jr., retired Vice Admiral, United States Coast Guard, is the President of Humanitarian Services for the American Red Cross. Previously, Johnson was the former Vice President for National Preparedness and Response Solutions at BAE Systems and Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Nancy L. Ward is the Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security Adviser to the Governor of California. Previously, Ward served in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the Regional Administrator for Region IX from 2006 until 2014. During this time, from January until May of 2009, Ward was selected to serve as FEMA's Acting Administrator by her predecessor, R. David Paulison to serve in his place after he retired on January 21, 2009. She returned to the position of Region IX Administrator in May 2009 after Craig Fugate was appointed as Federal Administrator.
David Peter Pekoske is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who has served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2017. He served as the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security from April to November 2019 and again from January to June 2021. From January 20, 2021 to February 2, 2021 he served as acting secretary of homeland security, during the Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
Chad Fredrick Wolf is an American former government official and lobbyist who was named the acting United States secretary of homeland security in November 2019. His appointment was ruled unlawful in November 2020. Wolf was also the under secretary of homeland security for strategy, policy, and plans from 2019 to 2021.
Gina Marie Raimondo is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who has served since 2021 as the 40th United States secretary of commerce. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021, and was the first woman to serve in the role.
Gregg Amore is an American politician currently serving as the Secretary of State of Rhode Island.
Robert J. Fenton Jr is an American governmental official who worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1996 and was appointed Regional Administrator for FEMA Region IX: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Islands in July 2015. He had a leadership role in the development of the National Incident Management System and the National Response Framework.
Kevin Kealoha McAleenan is an American attorney and government official who unlawfully served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019.
William Brockmann Long is an American emergency manager who served as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump in April 2017 and confirmed by the United States Senate in June 2017. He served until his resignation in March 2019, following criticism of his handling of the Hurricane Maria and an ethical complaint over using official vehicles.
The 2022 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Rhode Island. Incumbent Democratic governor Dan McKee became Rhode Island's governor on March 2, 2021, when term-limited Gina Raimondo resigned following her confirmation as United States Secretary of Commerce. McKee easily won a full term on election day, defeating Republican Ashley Kalus by more than 19 percentage points.
The Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It was created by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, replacing the former Office of Policy, and creating a new Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans position.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Rhode Island, one from each of the state's 2 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. It followed a primary election on September 13, 2022.
Beginning in 2019, multiple appointments of acting officials in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were questioned, on the basis of whether the appointments were legal under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. After the departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019, the Trump administration did not formally nominate a new secretary to be confirmed by the Senate, relying on acting postings.
Deanne Bennett Criswell is an American emergency management officer who has served as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency since April 2021. Criswell is the first woman to lead FEMA. She was previously the commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Office.
United States 
United States Marine Corps 
Lieutenant Colonel 
