FEMA head: I'm not quitting

Andrew Zajac

Here's a switch. A press release in which a high-ranking Bush Administration official claims he' not leaving.

FEMA Administrator David Paulison this afternoon put out a strongly worded declaration that, contrary to media reports, he's not not going anywhere.

That passes for news in the last year of a lame duck presidency generously sprinkled with top level boards and commissions lacking enough members for quorums and by a rush for the exits among senior officials. (See yesterday's announced departure of embattled HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.)

Moving on is a fact of transitions, he said, but not imminent.

"It is a fact that I serve President Bush, and therefore my service will end when we move into the next administration,'' he said. "However, I can assure you that this announcement is not imminent. I have no job offers and have no plans to leave FEMA at this time.''

(FEMA Administrator David Paulison at a Missouri flooding-disaster area in March. AP Photo by Tom Gannam)

Here's Paulison's full statement:

Statement of FEMA Administrator David Paulison

Committed to FEMA and the American People

A number of media outlets are reporting today that I am resigning as FEMA Administrator. Let me be clear: I have no plans to leave at this time, and am committed to moving FEMA’s mission forward.

My comments during a media event this morning have been taken out of context. It is a fact that I serve President Bush, and therefore my service will end when we move into the next administration. However, I can assure you that this announcement is not imminent. I have no job offers and have no plans to leave FEMA at this time.

My energy continues to be focused on building New FEMA and preparation for the upcoming hurricane season and the transition.

Reports like this undermine our efforts to improve the morale of our employees and hinder our efforts to rebuild this organization.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

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Note two bureaucratic devices in Paulison's announcement and their plain English meaning:
"Let me be clear" -- the verbal equivalent of pounding the table. Maybe he really means it.

"I have no plans to leave at this time." But tomorrow may be a different story.

So maybe he is leaving after all.