President Donald Trump told reporters, "When I like people, I make them permanent, but I can leave acting for a long period of time.” | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo White House Trump says he's OK with acting FEMA chief as Hurricane Dorian bears down

Hurricane Dorian is forecast to make landfall on the Atlantic coast without a Senate-confirmed FEMA administrator to oversee relief efforts — and President Donald Trump says he’s OK with that.

“Acting gives you great flexibility that you don't have with permanent,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before departing to Camp David, where he said he will be closely monitoring the storm. “When I like people, I make them permanent, but I can leave acting for a long period of time.”


Deputy FEMA administrator Pete Gaynor is serving as acting administrator of the federal emergency agency after former head Brock Long resigned following a controversy over his personal use of government vehicles. Dorian would be the first hurricane Gaynor has overseen.

Trump nominated Jeffrey Byard — who previously served in the Alabama Emergency Management Agency — to lead FEMA in February, but his nomination has stalled in the Senate.

Gaynor is one of many acting officials in Trump’s administration. Other top posts without a Senate-confirmed head include U.N ambassador, Labor secretary and Homeland Security secretary, who also plays a major role in overseeing disaster relief efforts.

The White House said Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor Peter Brown will accompany the president on his trip to Camp David to provide regular updates on Dorian's path.

Trump said he’ll be “coming back” to Washington on Sunday to monitor Dorian recovery efforts.

Hurricane Dorian, a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph as of late Friday, is expected to make landfall along the coast of Florida or the Carolinas during the Labor Day weekend.

When asked if he was concerned about the impact the storm could have on his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said it “can handle itself.”

“It’s a very powerful place,” Trump said. “The thing I'm worried about is the state of Florida.”

Trump tweeted Saturday morning: "Looking like our great South Carolina could get hit MUCH harder than first thought. Georgia and North Carolina also. It’s moving around and very hard to predict, except that it is one of the biggest and strongest (and really wide) that we have seen in decades. Be safe!"

The president, who traveled from Camp David to his golf course in Sterling, Va., Saturday morning, is being briefed hourly on the hurricane, Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said, according to a pool report.

Trump is scheduled to return to Camp David for a hurricane briefing at 4 p.m.