President Trump’s decision to nominate Cameron Hamilton to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency marks a remarkable comeback for the former Navy SEAL, who was fired from that exact role less than a year ago after he publicly opposed White House plans to eliminate the disaster relief agency.
Hamilton served as FEMA’s acting administrator from January through May 2025, when he was forced out following his May 7, 2025, testimony before a House Appropriations subcommittee. During that Capitol Hill appearance, he openly rejected the administration’s strategy to dismantle FEMA, stating just hours before his termination: “As the senior advisor to the president on disasters and emergency management, and to the secretary of homeland security, I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate FEMA.”
The move represents a significant embarrassment for former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who drove Hamilton’s firing in May 2025, and highlights persistent questions about stability at FEMA, which has faced extraordinary upheaval since early 2025.
At the time of Hamilton’s testimony, the administration was actively working to phase out FEMA and transfer disaster response duties to states. President Trump had announced plans to begin “phasing out” the agency after hurricane season, floating the concept within days of starting his second term.
Hamilton’s relationship with Department of Homeland Security leadership deteriorated rapidly during his short tenure. He described conditions as “very hostile” between himself and Secretary Noem, as well as Corey Lewandowski, the longtime Trump ally who worked as a special government employee and senior adviser to Noem at DHS. Hamilton later informed NBC News that Lewandowski orchestrated his removal. Noem went so far as to order Hamilton to undergo a lie detector test to identify whether he had leaked information about an internal discussion regarding FEMA’s future.
The overhaul Noem implemented at FEMA resulted in more than 2,400 employees leaving through voluntary programs and terminations, decimated senior leadership ranks, and generated a multibillion-dollar backlog in disaster funding. She also instituted a requirement that any DHS expenditure exceeding $100,000 receive direct approval from the secretary, a measure that paralyzed operations until Secretary Mullin eliminated it. State and local officials across the country, including prominent Republican lawmakers whose constituents rely on federal disaster assistance, mounted fierce opposition to the restructuring.
On Wednesday, April 16, Hamilton met at the White House with President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to discuss FEMA opportunities. Sources familiar with the conversation say Trump extended the job offer during that meeting. Senate confirmation would make Hamilton the first permanent FEMA administrator of Trump’s second term, leading an agency whose parent department, DHS, has been shut down since mid-February. Since January 2025, FEMA has operated under acting leaders exclusively and is currently on its third interim administrator.
The stunning reversal appears connected to broader changes in how the administration handles FEMA. Secretary Mullin has dismantled several policies from Noem’s era since taking charge at DHS, adopting a notably different approach by commending FEMA’s efforts and working to expedite disaster aid delivery to communities. In early April, Mullin traveled to North Carolina to address recovery from 2024’s Hurricane Helene, earning public recognition from Hamilton on social media.
“This is leadership in action,” Hamilton wrote about Mullin’s North Carolina visit, demonstrating improved relations with current DHS leadership.
Hamilton’s background includes a decade with the Navy SEALs, where he served as a combat medic on SEAL Team Eight and completed four overseas deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom between 2005 and 2015. Following military service, he joined the State Department, working with crisis response teams and the Bureau of Counterterrorism, then later as an emergency management specialist at the State Department.
Prior to his initial appointment leading FEMA, Hamilton directed DHS’s division for emergency first responders. He also ran unsuccessfully in a Republican primary for Congress in Virginia’s 7th District in 2024. Critics have pointed to his limited background managing natural disasters before assuming control of the nation’s primary disaster response agency.
In early April, Hamilton expressed gratitude to President Trump on social media for his previous chance to lead FEMA. “I wish my tenure had been longer, as there is still much more work to do for reform,” he wrote. He noted that under Mullin’s leadership, “good things will come.”
The administration seems to be retreating from its most dramatic FEMA restructuring plans, although the agency awaits a final report from the FEMA Review Council that may suggest substantial reforms. The 2026 fiscal year proposal to eliminate $646 million in non-disaster grants remains under review.
Neither the White House nor Department of Homeland Security provided official confirmation of the nomination. A DHS spokesperson told NBC News, “DHS has no personnel announcements to make at this time.”
Hamilton’s transformation from terminated official to presidential nominee within a year illustrates the turbulent personnel practices that have defined this administration’s disaster response management, leaving FEMA without permanent leadership during a crucial time as communities nationwide continue rebuilding from recent catastrophes.
