(The Hill) – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended David Richardson, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), claiming he was joking Monday when he said he was unaware the U.S. had an official hurricane season.

Their response comes after Reuters reported that Richardson, who has been in the position since early May, baffled employees with the sentiment at a recent briefing. The outlet said it was unclear to staff members whether the remark was meant to be taken “literally, as a joke, or in some other context.”

“Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season,” a spokesperson for DHS, which houses FEMA, said in a statement to The Hill.

“FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people,” the spokesperson continued, adding that FEMA, under Richardson, is “activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”

The Atlantic hurricane season officially started on June 1 and lasts until about Nov. 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is expecting an unusually heavy hurricane season this year, with six to 10 total hurricanes, including three to five major ones.

The report from Reuters prompted swift, concerned reactions from Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) responded to the Reuters report on Monday evening, writing on social platform X, “I’m unaware of why he hasn’t been fired yet.”

Others also weighed in.

“Trump’s FEMA chief is incompetent,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wrote on X in a reply to the article. “People will die.”

“Wait WHAT?! People are bracing for storms and this man just found out the weather exists?!” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said on X.

“This is what happens when you hire vibes over qualifications,” she added.

The previous acting FEMA administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was ousted from his position early last month after breaking with the Trump administration’s official position that the agency needed to be overhauled or shuttered.

Hamilton told lawmakers that he did not think it was in the public’s interest to eliminate FEMA.

DHS reiterated their vow to upgrade what they called a “bloated, DC-centric dead weight” to a “lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens.”

“The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,” the DHS spokesperson wrote in the statement. “Under Secretary [Kristi Noem]’s leadership, and the efforts of Acting Administrator Richardson FEMA is fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”