Brock Long, right, speaks to Donald Trump at the WhiteHouse.  (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Updated 5:15 p.m. ET

Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long is leavingthe agency he led through a record period of naturaldisasters — including a widely panned response to a storm that devastatedPuerto Rico.

“While this has been the opportunity of the lifetime, it is timefor me to go home to my family — my beautiful wife and twoincredible boys,” Long said in a statement. Long said he wouldleave March 8 and his deputy, PeterGaynor, would serve as acting administrator.

Since taking over the agency in June, 2017, Long has overseenthe federal government's response to an extraordinary series ofdisasters, from powerful hurricanes that struck the southeasternU.S. and Puerto Rico to wildfires that scorched California.

Tough decision

“This is one of the toughest decisions I have ever had to make,”Long told FEMA staff in an email. “Thank you for an incrediblejourney and for the support you have shown me. Whether you agreedwith my vision for the agency or not, thank you for standing withme as we tried new concepts designed to ultimately save lives andbetter our profession.”

House Democrats have pledged to investigate the agency's response to Hurricane Maria's strike onPuerto Rico. The storm left most of the commonwealth withoutelectricity for months, and caused an estimated 2,975 deaths.

But Long, in his statement, said “With this administration'sleadership, we also improved and transformed the field of emergencymanagement.”

Dogged by ethics complaints

Long's tenure began with unusual bipartisan support —he was confirmed by a 95-4 vote — but was later dogged byethics complaints regarding his use of government vehicles.

An inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security InspectorGeneral concluded that Long took government cars for his personaluse despite FEMA's own lawyers telling him it wasn'tappropriate.

Related: FEMA tells staffers they might get billed forworking too much

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that Longwould have to reimburse the government for the cost of the vehiclesand staff involved in the trips, many of which were betweenWashington and his home in North Carolina. The report puts thatcost at $151,000.

“Over the last two years, administrator Long has admirably ledthe men and women of FEMA during very difficult, historic andcomplex times,” Nielsen said in a statement.

Former consultant, ran Alabama's emergency managementagency

Before taking the FEMA post, Long worked at an emergencymanagement consulting firm. Until 2011, he ran Alabama's emergencymanagement agency.

“Under his leadership, the nation committed to one of thelargest set asides for mitigation in history in last year'sdisaster reform bill,” Laura Lightbody, director of theflood-prepared communities initiative at the Pew Charitable Trusts,said by email. “He also championed the need for states andlocalities to have more skin in the game when it comes topreparing, recovering and paying for disasters in the face ofincreasing federal costs.”

Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of StateFloodplain Managers, said that Long deserves credit for shiftingFEMA's focus toward what emergency managers call disastermitigation — spending money to protect vulnerable communitiesbefore hurricanes, floods or wildfires occur, to reduce the damagelater.

“We've had directors that talked a big game on mitigation, butman, Brock seemed to live and breath it,” Berginnis said by phoneWednesday.

Long also sparked an unusual level of devotion from the agency'semployees, Berginnis said. “They would have jumped over a cliff forhim.”

'Same cycle over and over again'

Earlier, when Hurricane Michael wiped out broad swaths ofFlorida, Long criticized the failure of citizens to heedevacuation warnings and leaders to better prepare for suchnatural disasters.

“It's frustrating to us because we repeat this same cycle overand over again,” Long said during a press briefing last year atFEMA headquarters in Washington. “If you want to live in theseareas, you've got to do it in a more resilient fashion.”

Related: FEMA strips mention of 'climate change' fromstrategic plan

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