Pete Gaynor, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will serve as acting secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), CNN reported Monday. He will succeed Chad Wolf, who announced his resignation Monday in a letter obtained by the publication.
Gaynor was confirmed by the Senate as administrator of FEMA in January 2020. He has more than a decade of emergency management experience and previously served as director of Rhode Island’s Emergency Management Agency and director of the Providence Emergency Management Agency. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 26 years as an infantry officer.
Gaynor told his staff he will take over as interim secretary of homeland security and serve in that capacity through Jan. 20th. He added that Bob Fenton, administrator of FEMA Region 9, will perform the duties of FEMA administrator until the agency’s next chief is confirmed.
