Trump Fired Him for Defending FEMA and Now He Wants Him Back: Who is Cameron Hamilton

President Donald Trump has nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, bringing back the same official his administration fired last year after he publicly said the disaster relief agency should not be eliminated.

The move is a striking reversal for Trump, who spent much of 2025 attacking FEMA as wasteful and arguing that states should carry more responsibility for disaster response. Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL and emergency management official, was removed as FEMA’s acting administrator in May 2025, one day after he told lawmakers that abolishing the agency would not serve Americans.

“I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told a House Appropriations subcommittee, according to ABC News.

That answer put Hamilton at odds with Trump’s public push to shrink or possibly dismantle FEMA and with then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had said the agency had “failed” and should be “eliminated” or downsized. The next day, Hamilton was fired, just weeks before the official start of hurricane season.

Now, Trump wants him confirmed as FEMA’s permanent administrator.

The White House nomination would put Hamilton back atop an agency that has been battered by staff exits, political fights, and questions over whether the federal government is prepared for another major disaster season. If confirmed by the Senate, Hamilton would become the first permanent FEMA administrator of Trump’s second term.

Hamilton’s biography helps explain why Trump chose him in the first place and why the nomination is not a simple act of forgiveness. He is a military veteran, a former Navy SEAL and a Republican with experience in federal emergency operations. He previously held emergency management roles at the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, including work overseeing emergency medical services at the southern border.

But his résumé also creates an obvious confirmation fight. Federal law requires FEMA administrators to have emergency management expertise, and critics are expected to question whether Hamilton has enough experience running a state or local emergency agency. The AP noted that his lack of top-level state or local emergency management leadership could become a sticking point in the Senate.

Hamilton’s short time leading FEMA was also controversial. The AP reported that his tenure included decisions to halt survivor outreach and cancel a major resilience grant, which was later reinstated by court order. Still, his willingness to defend FEMA’s existence won him support from parts of the emergency management community at a moment when many inside the agency feared it was being hollowed out.