President Trump has decided to nominate Cameron Hamilton to run the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), marking a remarkable turnaround for an official who was terminated from the identical role less than 12 months ago after he publicly opposed White House efforts to eliminate the disaster relief organization.
Hamilton met with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the White House to discuss FEMA leadership opportunities. Sources familiar with the meeting say the president extended the job offer during that session. Should the Senate confirm his appointment, he would be the first permanent FEMA administrator during Trump’s second term, taking charge of an agency whose parent department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has remained shut down since mid-February.
The former Navy SEAL held the acting FEMA administrator position from January through May 2025 before his ouster. His dismissal came just one day after he appeared before a House Appropriations subcommittee on May 7, 2025, where he delivered testimony opposing administration policy.
“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,” Hamilton told lawmakers, with the knowledge that his firing loomed just hours away.
His Capitol Hill appearance occurred while the Trump administration actively promoted initiatives to dismantle FEMA and transfer disaster response duties to state governments. The president had discussed beginning to phase out the agency after hurricane season concluded, floating the concept within days of starting his second term.
Hamilton’s working relationship with DHS leadership deteriorated during his months in office. He faced growing friction with then-Secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, the veteran Trump confidant who worked as a special government employee and senior adviser to Noem at DHS. Hamilton characterized his dealings with DHS officials as becoming very hostile, later telling NBC News that Lewandowski engineered his removal. Noem even directed Hamilton to undergo a lie detector examination to identify whether he had disclosed information from a confidential meeting regarding FEMA’s future.
The nomination represents a significant political setback for Noem, who directed Hamilton’s termination in May 2025. It also highlights ongoing questions about management continuity at an agency experiencing extraordinary upheaval since the beginning of 2025. FEMA has operated under acting administrators exclusively since January 2025 and is now managed by its third interim leader.
During Noem’s time running DHS, FEMA experienced a dramatic reorganization that resulted in more than 2,400 workers leaving through voluntary departures and dismissals, depleted senior management ranks, and generated a multibillion-dollar backlog in disaster funding. Noem additionally instituted a requirement mandating her personal authorization for any DHS expenditure exceeding $100,000, which effectively paralyzed operations—a directive that Secretary Mullin subsequently eliminated. The restructuring sparked intense criticism from state and local government leaders across the country, including high-profile Republican officials whose districts rely on federal disaster support.
The nomination signals what appears to be a fundamental change in how the administration handles FEMA. Mullin has started dismantling multiple policies from the Noem period since assuming control of DHS, adopting a notably different approach by commending FEMA’s performance and working to expedite disaster assistance to affected areas. In early April, Mullin traveled to North Carolina to examine recovery operations following 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, signaling a warmer relationship with the current DHS leadership.
Hamilton brought an unusual background to federal emergency management. The former combat medic completed a decade of service with the Navy SEALs, including duty on SEAL Team Eight and four international deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom from 2005 to 2015. His post-military career included positions at the State Department working with crisis response teams and the Bureau of Counterterrorism, followed by a role as an emergency management specialist at the same department.
Prior to his initial appointment leading FEMA, Hamilton managed DHS’s division responsible for emergency first responders. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination in Virginia’s 7th District congressional race in 2024. Observers have pointed to his relatively thin background in handling natural disasters before his selection to head the nation’s principal disaster response organization.
Hamilton expressed gratitude to President Trump on social media in early April for the earlier opportunity to lead FEMA. “I wish my tenure had been longer, as there is still much more work to do for reform,” he wrote. He added that under Mullin’s leadership, “good things will come.”
While the administration seems to be stepping back from its most radical proposals for FEMA, the agency continues to await findings from the FEMA Review Council that may suggest substantial changes. A proposal to cut $646 million in non-disaster grants during fiscal year 2026 remains under consideration.
Neither the White House nor DHS provided official statements regarding the nomination. A DHS spokesperson told NBC News, “DHS has no personnel announcements to make at this time.”
Hamilton’s journey from terminated official to presidential selection in under a year illustrates the turbulent personnel decisions that have defined this administration’s disaster response strategy, leaving FEMA in temporary hands during a crucial time as communities nationwide work to recover from recent disasters.
