Donald Trump has renominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), months after Hamilton was fired for opposing plans to abolish the agency. Hamilton served as acting administrator from January to May last year before being dismissed following a House hearing where he stated, “I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has repeatedly moved to cut Fema, vowing to shift disaster preparedness to state and local governments. Kristi Noem, then homeland security secretary, echoed that approach, saying, “I think the president recognises that Fema should not exist the way that it always has been.” However, recent shifts suggest the administration may be backing away from earlier vows to abolish Fema entirely. After Noem’s ouster and the appointment of Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary, more than a dozen Fema employees who had criticised the administration were reinstated last month.
If confirmed, Hamilton would return to oversee a significantly reduced workforce amid growing staff frustration. Shana Udvardy, senior climate resilience policy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, criticised the nomination, saying, “President Trump is revealing his chaotic governing style by nominating a candidate who was fired last year and who lacks the experience and qualifications for the job as required under law.” She added that Hamilton would lead an agency “depleted by thousands of job cuts, unstable leadership and resource reductions, leaving Fema less prepared to confront more frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-fueled disasters.”
