Trump Nominates Cameron Hamilton to Lead FEMA

President Donald Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton on Monday to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, previously served as acting administrator from January to May 2025. According to sources, he was removed the day after testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee that he did not believe eliminating the agency would be in the best interest of the American people.

The administration removed the latest acting head of FEMA on Tuesday and installed an official with three decades of experience at the agency in an interim capacity. That official will support Hamilton through the confirmation process. A spokesperson said the outgoing acting head had been asked to lead special projects at the Department of Homeland Security as director of the Waste, Fraud and Abuse Task Force.

If confirmed by the Senate, Hamilton would become the first permanent administrator in the current term and serve as the principal adviser to the president and the Homeland Security secretary on emergency management. The agency has operated under three temporary leaders since the start of the term and is preparing for the upcoming summer disaster season.

Hamilton told a podcast last September that he immediately expressed concern when abolition became the focus. DHS officials subjected him and others to a polygraph examination over suspected leaks from a private meeting; he passed the test but anticipated his removal.

He replied that he did not believe it was in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Hamilton has stated that the agency needs major reform. He believes FEMA should operate faster, shed responsibilities he views as outside its core mission and reduce excessive state dependence on federal aid.

A Trump-appointed council last week recommended major changes to FEMA that would require congressional approval. Hamilton will inherit an agency whose workforce has been reduced by mass departures, operational constraints and a 75-day shutdown of the parent department that ended on April 30.

Hamilton has previously reached out to current and former emergency management directors, an effort that drew appreciation from his predecessor in the position.