A changing of the guard took place in the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday.
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, announced that FEMA director Mike Brown would return to Washington, D.C., instead of heading up Gulf Coast relief efforts.
Chertoff named Vice Admiral Thad Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard to oversee Hurricane Katrina response.
Some speculate that the move could be a response to the heavy criticism of FEMA's response to the disaster.
"I don't think that this is anything more than the recognition that they needed a more experienced operational manager on the scene, and so they went to basically someone with more experience running things," said UNC professor of political science George Rabinowitz.
Since January of 2003, Brown has led FEMA as the first Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Department of Homeland Security.
A statement from FEMA said the move is in preparation for future hurricane activity.
"Under Secretary Michael Brown is returning from the field as principal federal official for Hurricane Katrina to resume oversight in the D.C. headquarters for the arrival of Tropical Storm Ophelia and the immediate response efforts," said the statement released on Friday.
Brown wasn't the best person for the job in the first place, Rabinowitz said.
