After winning another term last fall, President-elect Donald Trump began rapidly revealing the names of those he will nominate to serve in top jobs in his next administration.
But days away from his inauguration — with wildfires ravaging Los Angeles in what Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., predicts will be one of the worst natural disasters in history — a key position remains unaddressed: Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator.
It’s a substantial unanswered question in such a crisis. And while Trump, given his social media habits and unpredictable impulses, could announce his FEMA pick at any minute, he instead is responding to the fires by hurling unsubstantiated blame at Newsom and other Democrats.
Trump, though, has identified a frontrunner for the FEMA job. Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is at the top of the list of potential nominees, three sources tell NBC News.
Since being appointed to lead the Florida agency in 2021, Guthrie has led the state’s response to four major hurricanes, including a Category 4, and the response to a South Florida condo collapse that led to the death of 98 people. In the process, he has generally receiving high marks across the political spectrum for the state’s response to those disasters.
Guthrie has worked in the emergency management industry his entire three-decade career. Then-Gov. Rick Scott, who is now a Republican senator, appointed him as chief of staff to the state’s top emergency management department in 2018. Gov. Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, appointed him to lead the division in 2021.
Trump’s transition team began considering Guthrie to lead the key post last week, sending a quick signal through Florida’s political world.
“It’s going to be Kevin, I believe,” said a longtime Florida Republican, who said the state is already preparing to fill the void left by Guthrie’s potential appointment. “He makes so much sense, and all the signals we are getting is that he is the pick.”
Trump spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.
A former DeSantis administration official called Guthrie a “no brainer.”
“He has led this state through some horrific storms. He’s not political, and he just gets the job done. FEMA would be lucky to have him,” the person said. “There are clear signals here from the incoming Trump administration that he’s the top pick, and I don’t blame them.”
“It is who I would pick,” the person added.
While Florida is much more accustomed to hurricanes, the state does experience fires, though they are significantly less damaging than those currently ravaging California. In 2024, more than 24,000 acres in the state burned, including four significant wildfires that burned nearly 30,000 acres.
Guthrie is generally seen as a nonpartisan presence who has not been directly involved in the state’s many high-profile culture war fights, even as DeSantis, who appointed him, has built his political brand on those clashes.
“I don’t see how Democrats could have a real issue with the pick,” the former DeSantis administration staffer said. “He’s in the game of responding to emergencies, not partisan politics.”
Feeding off high winds and dry conditions, the Los Angeles wildfires have multiplied since breaking out Jan. 7. As of Monday night, 24 people had been killed and more than 12,000 buildings and structures had been destroyed. Evacuation orders remain in place.
Federal agencies, staffed by career employees who don’t serve at the pleasure of a president, are used to covering for political appointees when one administration transitions to another and a new president’s nominees await Senate confirmation. FEMA is no different. Career staff will “step up in an acting capacity” during the transition between presidential administrations, giving political appointees time to “trickle in,” Daniel Llargues, a spokesperson for the agency said.
Tony Robinson — a regional administrator with 37 years of experience who oversees Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas — will serve as acting FEMA administrator until a Trump nominee is confirmed, Llargues added.
Trump has not publicly shared ideas for how his administration will handle the wildfires once he returns to office next week. Privately, with Republican members of Congress, he has discussed tying future wildfire aid to an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, NOTUS and Politico reported Monday.
Lori Lodes, executive director of the progressive group Climate Power, raised concerns about Trump and Republicans making aid contingent on unrelated legislative items.
“The only reason why wildfire aid is not already moving is because Donald Trump thinks he can use a tragedy to wring out some political concessions,” Lodes said in a statement to NBC News. “He can make the choice right now to help the American people. Or he can begin his presidency by making a disaster even worse.”
Trump, in a Monday interview with Newsmax, said he was assessing the damage by “putting my developer cap on” before marveling at the destruction.
“I believe it’s greater damage than if they got hit by a nuclear weapon. I’ve never seen anything like it — vast miles and miles of houses just burned to a crisp,” Trump added. “There’s nothing standing, and they’re going to find many bodies. You know, only the dogs will find them, right? You know, German shepherds will.”
Newsom has invited Trump to survey wildfire damage. And Trump’s team has been discussing a visit to Los Angeles, sources familiar with the conversations told NBC News this week. It’s not clear if the trip will happen before or after Trump’s inauguration Monday.
In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last week, Newsom blasted Trump for spreading what the governor said was “mis- and disinformation” about the fires. Trump has targeted President Joe Biden, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom with blame at a time when the initial cause of the fires is unknown and the circumstances surrounding their spread are complex. Without basis, Trump has connected conservation efforts around the Delta smelt, a small endangered fish, to water supply issues that have hamstrung firefighters.
“The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon wrote in an emailed statement Tuesday.
Newsom, in the “Meet the Press” interview, expressed hope that he could work with Trump while praising Biden for how his outgoing administration has responded to the wildfires
“I’m blessed on behalf of 40 million Americans that happen to live in California that Joe Biden is president of the United States and did what he did immediately,” Newsom said. “And to the extent that we can work with the same relationship and that same spirit with Donald Trump, I hope we can.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com