Russel L. Honoré

On August 31, 2005, Honoré was designated commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast. Honoré's arrival in New Orleans came after what was widely believed to be a poor performance by the state and local agencies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its director Michael D. Brown. He gained media celebrity and accolades for his apparent turning around of the situation in the city as well as his gruff management style which contrasted with what many felt were the empty platitudes of civilian officials. In one widely played clip, Honoré was seen on the streets of the city, barking orders to subordinates and, in one case, berating local police officers who were displaying their weapons as they rode past him. "Weapons down! Weapons down, damn it!" Honoré shouted. [6] New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was quoted on a radio interview September 1, 2005, saying: "Now, I will tell you this—and I give the president some credit on this—he sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is Gen. Honoré. And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done."[7] Stars and Stripes, the unofficial newspaper of the United States Armed Forces, reported that Honoré had previous experience dealing with flooding at many South Korean bases during monsoon season and supervised the installation of flood control measures.

On September 20, 2005, at a press conference with Nagin on Hurricane Rita, Honoré made headlines nationwide when he told a reporter not to get "stuck on stupid" in reference to a question about the government response to Hurricane Katrina.[8]

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Honoré described the situation in the U.S. territory as being "like a war" and said it was significantly worse than New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.[9] Honoré criticized the Trump administration's response to the crisis, saying it demanded a greater and more rapid response, with a larger commitment of U.S. troops to provide emergency assistance,[10] and told CNN anchor Erin Burnett, "The president has shown again he don't give a damn about poor people. He doesn't give a damn about people of color."[11]

In late August 2009, there were reports that Honoré would run for U.S. Senate in 2010 in his native Louisiana as a Republican against incumbent Republican Senator David Vitter.[12] On August 31, when asked point-blank on CNN about the reports, Honoré expressed admiration for individuals who aspire to serve in public office but said that he had no plans to seek the Senate seat, as he was unlikely to win with the viewpoints he currently holds.

On January 15, 2021, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that Honoré would lead a review of security failures following the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[13]