Trump Considers Cameron Hamilton for FEMA Leadership Role
President Donald Trump is anticipated to nominate Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Hamilton was dismissed from his position as acting director nearly a year ago after he defended the agency during congressional testimony.
On Wednesday, Hamilton visited the White House for discussions with President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin regarding the potential FEMA appointment. However, the Department of Homeland Security stated there were currently no plans for personnel announcements.
The White House chose not to comment, and Hamilton did not respond to inquiries for a statement on the matter.
Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL and combat medic, had served as a senior official performing FEMA’s duties during the initial five months of Trump’s second term. In May 2025, he testified before a House committee asserting that he believed FEMA should not be abolished, a stance that contrasted sharply with Trump’s previous calls for the agency’s dismantlement.
Following his testimony, Hamilton was removed from his position just a day later. Tricia McLaughlin, then a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, indicated that the decision was not a direct response to his congressional statements.
Nevertheless, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt suggested that Hamilton’s testimony played a role in his dismissal. At a press conference, she noted that Hamilton had made statements that conflicted with the president’s beliefs and goals regarding FEMA, underscoring the importance of aligning personnel with the administration’s objectives.
Should the Senate confirm him, Hamilton would fill the role of first full-time FEMA administrator in the Trump administration’s second term. The agency has been led by acting officials for the past 15 months. His nomination occurs in the wake of Mullin’s recent appointment as the new Secretary of Homeland Security, amid ongoing issues within the department since mid-February. Hamilton has publicly praised Mullin’s leadership following a visit to North Carolina to discuss recovery from Hurricane Helen in 2024.
In a recent post on X, Hamilton expressed his gratitude to Trump for the previous opportunity to lead FEMA, lamenting that his term was cut short, as there remained significant reforms to address. He expressed confidence in positive changes under Mullin’s leadership.
Earlier this month, Mullin rescinded a controversial rule instituted by former Secretary Kristi Noem, which required personal approval for DHS spending exceeding $100,000. Hamilton, who completed four tours in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL and contributed to crisis response efforts, previously managed the emergency operations division within DHS before his tenure as FEMA’s acting leader.
During his 2025 testimony, Hamilton defended FEMA’s relevance while arguing that it had transformed into an expansive federal bureaucracy, often handling minor emergencies at the expense of providing urgent aid where it was truly needed. He emphasized that FEMA should not be relied upon by local officials for everyday issues, as it creates a culture of dependency and inefficiency.
Earlier in the year, Trump had expressed intentions to scale back FEMA operations, suggesting that he might “phase them out” after the hurricane season. However, following severe flooding in Texas last summer, it was communicated that the president’s stance had shifted, signaling an interest in restructuring the agency’s deployment strategies to better support states.
