Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton, fired after defending FEMA, to lead the agency
President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Cameron Hamilton to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency; It was a remarkable comeback for the former Navy SEAL. was fired from his role He served as FEMA’s interim leader after defending its existence last year.
His nomination comes as the Trump administration signals that it is increasingly backtracking. Promises to dismantle FEMAAn institution that has been subject to harsh criticism from the president. The candidacy of Hamilton, who argued that the abolition of FEMA was not in the country’s interest, was the last indicator of this change.
If confirmed, Hamilton would be Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s top adviser on emergency management and the first permanent administrator of FEMA during Trump’s second term. Agency passed three interim leadersIncluding Hamilton’s brief tenure from January to May 2025.
He would take over an agency that was still reeling. Kristi Noem’s tumultuous leadership A member of the Department of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is a part. FEMA’s workforce has been worn down by mass staff turnover. prohibitive policies operations and a 75-day DHS shutdown that ended April 30.
Hamilton will need to ensure the agency is prepared for the summer disaster season just a few weeks away, while responding to Trump, who is likely to expect major reforms following his appointed council. Sweeping changes were proposed last Friday.
“Now is the opportunity to stabilize FEMA,” said Michael Coen, the agency’s chief of staff in the Obama and Biden administrations.
Fired after defending FEMA
Hamilton, who has never been a state or local emergency management director and has publicly criticized FEMA in the past, was a controversial choice when Trump appointed him interim leader in January 2025, just days before the president was inaugurated. the idea of ”getting rid of” FEMA.
His break with DHS officials began with his advocacy for a federal role in supporting disaster-affected states, tribes and territories.
“When the conversation shifted to, ‘We’re going to eliminate it now,’ I immediately voiced my concerns,” he said last September on his “Hard Disasters” podcast with John Scardena, a former FEMA incident management team leader.
DHS officials even subjected him to a polygraph test, accusing him and other officials of leaking details of a private meeting. He passed, but he said he knew his removal was inevitable.
On May 7, before the House Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, asked Hamilton whether he believed FEMA should be repealed.
“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he replied. He was fired the next day.
Hamilton will have to rebuild trust
Scardena, now president of Doberman Emergency Management Group, a consulting firm that trains emergency managers, said advocating for FEMA earned him respect and trust among the people whose job it is to lead communities in crisis, even though he knew it would likely cost him his job.
“He won me over and I think he won over a lot of people with what he did,” Scardena said.
But several current FEMA employees, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution for public speaking out, told The Associated Press they had concerns about some of the actions taken under the Hamilton administration.
In 2024, Hamilton shared posts on X promoting misinformation about FEMA spending during Hurricane Helene.
During his interim leadership, FEMA stopped and canceled door-to-door outreach to reach survivors after disasters. a multibillion-dollar resilience grant programsince then restored by a federal judge. The Department of Government Efficiency gained access to internal FEMA networks containing survivors’ private information. FEMA staff fired Fulfillment of a refund payment to New York City To house undocumented immigrants as part of FEMA’s Shelter and Services program.
Hamilton said he believes FEMA needs major reform. He said he wants FEMA to move faster, that the agency is burdened with responsibilities that he sees as outside its purview, and that some states have become too dependent on the agency. Last week, a Trump-appointed council called for sweeping changes to FEMA that would require congressional action.
“I think he’s going to have to rebuild trust across the agency,” said Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator under former President Joe Biden, adding that she believes Hamilton cares about FEMA and appreciates the help he gave to emergency management directors and former officials during and after his tenure.
Senate confirmation process could raise experience questions
Hamilton may be set back in the Senate confirmation process because he has never led an emergency management agency, a common step toward becoming the director of an agency with more than 21,000 employees.
Federal law requires the FEMA administrator to have “demonstrated skill and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and at least five years of “executive leadership and management experience.”
Hamilton received corps training at a Navy hospital before spending a decade as a Navy SEAL with SEAL Team Eight. He later became a U.S. State Department emergency management specialist conducting overseas crisis response and then directed emergency medical services at DHS.
