Donald Trump has once again nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) after Hamilton was previously fired for publicly opposing plans to abolish the agency.
Hamilton was dismissed last year from his role as acting administrator of the disaster relief agency after testifying before a House appropriations subcommittee. During the hearing, he said: “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 last January, Trump has repeatedly moved to cut the agency, while vowing to shift greater responsibility for disaster preparedness to state and local governments. Kristi Noem, then homeland security secretary who oversaw a broad restructuring of Fema, echoed that approach, saying: “I think the president recognizes that Fema should not exist the way that it always has been.”
However, recent shifts suggest the administration may be backing away from its earlier vows to abolish Fema entirely. Following Noem’s ouster over the summer and the appointment of Markwayne Mullin as new homeland security secretary, more than a dozen Fema employees who had previously criticized the Trump administration and its cuts were reinstated last month.
Hamilton previously led the agency from January to May of last year and, if confirmed, would return to oversee a significantly reduced workforce amid growing staff frustration over the administration’s decisions.
In a statement on Monday, Shana Udvardy, senior climate resilience policy analyst at Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said: “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: “Hamilton is now back as a nominee to lead an agency that has been 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. Congress should press him for answers that the American public needs, with the safety and well-being of communities on the line.”
