Bush picks acting FEMA chief to take job permanently

Paulison has been acting FEMA chief since Michael Brown resigned from the position last September under mounting criticism for how the federal government handled the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Prior to taking the FEMA job, Paulison was head of the U.S. Fire Administration, and at the same time served as FEMA's director for preparedness. Before moving into the federal government, he was chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, where he began his career as a firefighter in 1971.

The New York Times reported Sunday that seven people who were contacted by the Bush administration about taking the top job at FEMA took themselves out of the running for the post.

Brown had said in recent interviews that he knew of candidates who had turned down offers to head the agency because they believed FEMA was in too much turmoil. The Homeland Security Department denied those claims.

With the start of this year's hurricane season just weeks away, House appropriators threatened last week to withhold FEMA funds unless the Bush administration filled the agency's top leadership positions.