President Donald Trump moved to install Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, as the permanent head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday, reversing his own administration’s approach a year after Hamilton was fired from a temporary role for publicly defending the disaster agency’s existence. If confirmed, Hamilton would become FEMA’s first permanent administrator of Trump’s second term, taking the helm of an organization still grappling with the fallout from leadership turmoil under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the exodus of experienced staff, and a 75-day DHS shutdown that ended only weeks before the summer disaster season begins. The White House announced the nomination late Monday.
Hamilton, who had previously criticized FEMA but served as its acting administrator from January to May 2025, clashed with DHS officials after he opposed proposals to dismantle the agency. “Once the conversation shifted to, ‘Now we’re going to abolish,’ I immediately expressed concern,” Hamilton said on the “Disaster Tough” podcast last September. DHS officials later subjected him to a polygraph test over allegations he and others leaked details of a private meeting; he passed the test but said he knew his dismissal was inevitable.
At a May 7, 2025, House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, asked Hamilton whether 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,” Hamilton replied. The next day, he was fired.
Hamilton’s willingness to defend FEMA at the cost of his job earned him respect among emergency managers. John Scardena, a former FEMA incident management team leader, said Hamilton “won myself over and I think a lot of people by what he did.” But several current FEMA employees, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, told The Associated Press they were concerned about some of the actions taken under Hamilton’s watch. Those include Hamilton’s 2024 social media posts promoting misinformation about FEMA spending during Hurricane Helene, as well as decisions to halt door-to-door disaster canvassing and cancel a multibillion-dollar resilience grant program — a grant program a federal judge later restored. The employees also said Hamilton allowed Department of Government Efficiency staffers access to internal FEMA networks containing survivors’ private information, and that FEMA staff were fired for processing a reimbursement to New York City for housing undocumented immigrants under the Shelter and Services program.
FEMA enters the summer disaster season after a bruising period of rapid leadership changes. “Now is the opportunity to stabilize FEMA,” said Michael Coen, the agency’s chief of staff under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator under Biden, said Hamilton “cares about FEMA” and that she appreciated his outreach to emergency management directors during and after his tenure, but added he will need to “rebuild trust across the agency.”
Hamilton has acknowledged FEMA needs major reform and wants the agency to move faster while shedding responsibilities he considers outside its remit, and a Trump-appointed council last week urged sweeping changes that would require congressional action. His path to Senate confirmation, however, could face questions over his lack of experience leading an emergency management agency, a common precursor to the administrator post. Federal law requires the FEMA administrator to demonstrate “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and at least five years of executive leadership experience. Hamilton trained as a Navy hospital corpsman before spending a decade as a SEAL with SEAL Team Eight, then served as a State Department emergency management specialist handling overseas crisis response and later directed emergency medical services at DHS.