Trump considers Florida's emergency management director for FEMA leadership role
Kevin Guthrie is presently tasked with overseeing the state's response to significant disasters.
TroibNews 
As wildfires continue to ravage California, President-elect Donald Trump is considering Kevin Guthrie, the Executive Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — an agency that has often been the subject of Trump’s criticism.
According to sources familiar with Trump's transition plans, Guthrie is regarded as the leading candidate for the position. “That’s their leading candidate,” said one of the individuals, who requested anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans, adding that Trump has not yet interviewed Guthrie.
Guthrie, who could join a long list of Floridians in significant administration roles, did not respond to requests for comment.
While Guthrie’s selection is not yet finalized, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team stated they “don’t speculate or get ahead of President Trump on personnel or policy announcements."
The head of FEMA will face significant challenges. Alongside the fires in Los Angeles County, which are expected to require substantial federal disaster aid, western North Carolina is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, a storm that struck in the fall and resulted in over 200 fatalities. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security and typically remains a secondary agency until later in the transition period.
The incoming FEMA director will be tasked with a busy agenda. Trump has historically meddled in the agency's operations, most recently suggesting via a Truth Social post that President Joe Biden is leaving him “NO MONEY IN FEMA,” despite $27 billion still available in the disaster relief fund — an amount that may fall short given California's potential needs. There was also that notable incident in 2019 when Trump appeared to redraw Hurricane Dorian’s path with a Sharpie during a FEMA briefing.
In the previous October, he publicly criticized FEMA's recovery efforts in western North Carolina, wrongly asserting that the agency was allocating funds to illegal immigrants. These statements led to threats against federal disaster workers and caused a temporary halt to their door-to-door outreach due to safety fears.
“There’s no doubt that whoever the next FEMA administrator is going to be is going to have their hands full, not just from these current fires in California, but from the — I don’t know — 50 other disasters that are probably still open within FEMA from a reimbursement standpoint, and obviously with the damage from the recent Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” remarked Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who was also considered for the position by Trump.
In Florida, Guthrie oversees the state’s disaster response and health emergency management, coordinating logistics for thousands of linemen, first responders, and debris removal teams before and after hurricanes. The Division of Emergency Management also supervises Florida’s participation in FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program, which has secured several billion dollars in federal recovery funds in recent years.
Guthrie, who was promoted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2021, would become the second Florida emergency management leader to be appointed to this key role in the last 15 years, following Craig Fugate, who served under former governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist.
Previously, Guthrie was the assistant administrator for public safety in Pasco County during the 2017 hurricane season, a period marked by severe flooding from Hurricane Irma and other storms. He was among several local leaders who expressed frustration regarding delays in FEMA recovery funding distribution.
Guthrie was appointed as chief of staff for the Division of Emergency Management by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2019 and later became the agency's deputy under Moskowitz, who was the director at that time. His career also includes 23 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
“I’m not worried about FEMA’s ability to respond without a political [appointee], but for any administration, it’s their responsibility to get their political team in place,” said Fugate.
Guthrie, who regularly appeared alongside DeSantis during disaster-related press conferences, faced criticism after Hurricane Ian in 2022 for not advocating for coastal evacuations sooner, a storm that claimed more than 100 lives.
“The folks at FEMA are professionals, there’ll be no drop between the Biden administration transitioning out and the interim administrator coming in,” Moskowitz commented.
Pete Gaynor, who held the role during the first Trump administration, expressed confidence that Trump’s recent comments about FEMA would not alter its approach to wildfire recovery efforts. “No matter what you’ve heard, especially pre-election when it came to Helene in North Carolina and some of that nonsense that was spewed about misinformation and FEMA, FEMA is apolitical,” Gaynor stated.
Irie Sentner contributed to this report.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to sources familiar with Trump's transition plans, Guthrie is regarded as the leading candidate for the position. “That’s their leading candidate,” said one of the individuals, who requested anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans, adding that Trump has not yet interviewed Guthrie.
Guthrie, who could join a long list of Floridians in significant administration roles, did not respond to requests for comment.
While Guthrie’s selection is not yet finalized, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team stated they “don’t speculate or get ahead of President Trump on personnel or policy announcements."
The head of FEMA will face significant challenges. Alongside the fires in Los Angeles County, which are expected to require substantial federal disaster aid, western North Carolina is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, a storm that struck in the fall and resulted in over 200 fatalities. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security and typically remains a secondary agency until later in the transition period.
The incoming FEMA director will be tasked with a busy agenda. Trump has historically meddled in the agency's operations, most recently suggesting via a Truth Social post that President Joe Biden is leaving him “NO MONEY IN FEMA,” despite $27 billion still available in the disaster relief fund — an amount that may fall short given California's potential needs. There was also that notable incident in 2019 when Trump appeared to redraw Hurricane Dorian’s path with a Sharpie during a FEMA briefing.
In the previous October, he publicly criticized FEMA's recovery efforts in western North Carolina, wrongly asserting that the agency was allocating funds to illegal immigrants. These statements led to threats against federal disaster workers and caused a temporary halt to their door-to-door outreach due to safety fears.
“There’s no doubt that whoever the next FEMA administrator is going to be is going to have their hands full, not just from these current fires in California, but from the — I don’t know — 50 other disasters that are probably still open within FEMA from a reimbursement standpoint, and obviously with the damage from the recent Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” remarked Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who was also considered for the position by Trump.
In Florida, Guthrie oversees the state’s disaster response and health emergency management, coordinating logistics for thousands of linemen, first responders, and debris removal teams before and after hurricanes. The Division of Emergency Management also supervises Florida’s participation in FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program, which has secured several billion dollars in federal recovery funds in recent years.
Guthrie, who was promoted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2021, would become the second Florida emergency management leader to be appointed to this key role in the last 15 years, following Craig Fugate, who served under former governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist.
Previously, Guthrie was the assistant administrator for public safety in Pasco County during the 2017 hurricane season, a period marked by severe flooding from Hurricane Irma and other storms. He was among several local leaders who expressed frustration regarding delays in FEMA recovery funding distribution.
Guthrie was appointed as chief of staff for the Division of Emergency Management by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2019 and later became the agency's deputy under Moskowitz, who was the director at that time. His career also includes 23 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
“I’m not worried about FEMA’s ability to respond without a political [appointee], but for any administration, it’s their responsibility to get their political team in place,” said Fugate.
Guthrie, who regularly appeared alongside DeSantis during disaster-related press conferences, faced criticism after Hurricane Ian in 2022 for not advocating for coastal evacuations sooner, a storm that claimed more than 100 lives.
“The folks at FEMA are professionals, there’ll be no drop between the Biden administration transitioning out and the interim administrator coming in,” Moskowitz commented.
Pete Gaynor, who held the role during the first Trump administration, expressed confidence that Trump’s recent comments about FEMA would not alter its approach to wildfire recovery efforts. “No matter what you’ve heard, especially pre-election when it came to Helene in North Carolina and some of that nonsense that was spewed about misinformation and FEMA, FEMA is apolitical,” Gaynor stated.
Irie Sentner contributed to this report.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
