Joe Allbaugh

Joe M. Allbaugh (born July 27, 1952) is an American political figure in the Republican Party. After spending most of his career in Oklahoma and Texas, Allbaugh came to national prominence working for Texas governor George W. Bush and helping manage his 2000 presidential election campaign. Allbaugh then became Bush's Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) beginning in February 2001. He served until FEMA's transfer into the newly created Department of Homeland Security, after which he resigned in March 2003. He was appointed as the interim Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections by the state Board of Corrections, effective January 11, 2016. On July 6, 2016, the Oklahoma Board of Corrections voted unanimously to make his appointment permanent and set his salary at $185,000. Allbaugh has pointed out his department "is not a listing ship, it is a sinking ship."