Brown fights back

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

Former FEMA director Michael Brown defended his response to Hurricane Katrina this week on Capitol Hill, blaming Louisiana and New Orleans officials for botching the evacuation and leaving survivors stranded. Brown, who resigned under pressure in the aftermath of Katrina, admitted making “specific mistakes,” the biggest of which was failing to see right away that “Louisiana was dysfunctional.” He also said he had warned President Bush days before the storm hit that “this is going to be a bad one.” Lawmakers reacted angrily. “I don’t know how you can sleep at night,” Rep. Kay Granger, a Texas Republican, told Brown. “You lost the battle.”