President Donald Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton on Monday to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a notable comeback for the former Navy SEAL who was removed from his role as FEMA’s temporary leader last year after he told Congress he did not think the agency should be eliminated.
His nomination comes as the Trump administration has increasingly signaled it is backing away from promises to dismantle FEMA, an agency that has faced withering criticism by the president. The nomination of Hamilton, who argued that abolishing FEMA was not in the country’s best interests, is the latest indication of that change.
If confirmed, Hamilton would be the principal adviser to Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on emergency management and FEMA’s first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term. The agency has gone through three temporary leaders, including Hamilton’s brief tenure from January to May 2025.
The Firing That Made Him a Believer
Hamilton, who had never been a state or local emergency management director and who had publicly criticized FEMA in the past, was a controversial choice when Trump named him temporary leader in January 2025 — just days before the president floated the idea of “getting rid” of FEMA.
His rupture with Department of Homeland Security officials began as he defended a federal role in supporting disaster-impacted states, tribes, and territories. “Once the conversation shifted to, ‘Now we’re going to abolish,’ I immediately expressed concern,” he said last September on the “Disaster Tough” podcast.
DHS officials even subjected him to a polygraph test, accusing him and other officials of leaking details of a private meeting. He passed but said he knew his dismissal was inevitable.
At a May 7 appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, asked Hamilton if he believed FEMA should be abolished. “I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he replied. The next day, he was fired.
Defending FEMA despite knowing it would likely cost him his job garnered respect and trust among people whose job it is to lead communities through crisis, said John Scardena, a former FEMA incident management team leader. “He won myself over, and I think a lot of people by what he did,” Scardena said.
The Challenges He Would Inherit
Hamilton would take over an embattled agency still reeling from Kristi Noem’s turbulent leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is part. FEMA’s workforce has been worn down by mass staff departures, policies that hamstrung operations, and a 75-day-long DHS shutdown that ended April 30.
He will need to ensure the agency is prepared for summer disaster season, just weeks away, while answering to Trump, who is likely to expect major reforms after a council he appointed recommended sweeping changes last Friday.
“Now is the opportunity to stabilize FEMA,” said Michael Coen, the agency’s chief of staff in the Obama and Biden administrations.
But multiple current FEMA employees who requested anonymity for fear of retribution for speaking publicly told The Associated Press they had concerns over some of the actions taken under Hamilton. In 2024, Hamilton shared posts on X promoting misinformation about FEMA spending during Hurricane Helene.
During his temporary leadership, FEMA ceased door-to-door canvassing to reach survivors after disasters and canceled a multibillion-dollar resilience grant program, which was restored by a federal judge. The Department of Government Efficiency gained access to internal FEMA networks containing survivors’ private information. FEMA staff were fired for fulfilling a reimbursement payment to New York City for housing undocumented immigrants as part of FEMA’s Shelter and Services program.
Hamilton has said he believes FEMA needs major reform. He has said he wants FEMA to move faster, that the agency is saddled with responsibilities he sees as outside its remit, and that some states have become too dependent on the agency.
The Confirmation Battle Ahead
Hamilton could face pushback in the Senate confirmation process over never having led an emergency management agency — a common stepping stone to becoming administrator of an agency with over 21,000 employees. Federal law requires the FEMA administrator to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and at least five years of “executive leadership and management experience.”
Hamilton trained as a Navy hospital corpsman before spending a decade as a Navy SEAL on SEAL Team Eight. He then became a State Department emergency management specialist handling overseas crisis response, and then directed emergency medical services at DHS. Whether that resume satisfies the statutory requirements will be debated during his confirmation hearing.
“I think he’s going to need 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 that she appreciated his outreach to emergency management directors and former officials during and after his tenure.
