WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | FEMA director resigns, sources say replacement already picked

FEMA director resigns, sources say replacement already picked

(Washington-AP) September 12, 2005 - Just three days after he was removed from the on-site command of the federal hurricane relief effort, Mike Brown is resigning as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He tells the Associated Press his resignation is "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president."

Brown has been the target of much of the criticism of the federal relief agency. His qualifications for the job, and even his claims about his background, have been questioned.

Brown says in the hurricane relief effort, "the focus has got to be on FEMA, what the people are trying to do down there." He says he wants to "get the media focused on the good things that are going on."

Sources in the Bush administration say a replacement for the outgoing FEMA chief has already been picked. Two senior officials say President Bush is choosing David Paulison for the job.

He's currently head of FEMA's emergency preparedness force. In that role, he's been in charge of a broad range of programs designed to reduce injuries and death due to disasters.

Before joining FEMA, Paulison had 30 years of fire rescue service experience, and was chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.

Updated 8:40pm by Bryce Mursch