President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, bringing back a former acting chief he once fired after Hamilton defended the agency’s existence. If confirmed, Hamilton would become FEMA’s first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term.
Hamilton, who led the agency briefly from January to May 2025, had told Trump that abolishing FEMA was “not in the country’s best interests.” His return would put him in the role of principal adviser to Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on emergency management at a moment when the agency is under pressure to prepare for summer disaster season, just weeks away.
FEMA sits inside the Department of Homeland Security and has been battered by mass staff departures, policies that hamstrung operations and a 75-day-long DHS shutdown that ended Apr. 30. The nomination also lands after a council Trump appointed recommended sweeping changes last Friday, raising the expectation that Hamilton would be asked to help carry out major reforms rather than simply run the agency as it stands now.
The choice marks a notable shift from Trump’s earlier criticism of FEMA and from his administration’s signals that it was backing away from promises to dismantle the agency. It also comes against the backdrop of turbulent leadership at Homeland Security under Kristi Noem, whose tenure has been marked by repeated strain inside the department. Hamilton’s previous firing, after he publicly defended FEMA, underscored how politically fraught the agency had become even before the latest round of reform demands.
The practical test for Hamilton would come fast. With hurricane and other summer emergencies approaching, FEMA needs a permanent leader who can steady a workforce worn down by departures and shutdown disruption while also meeting Trump’s likely expectation for major changes. Whether Hamilton can do both will define the start of his tenure if the Senate confirms him.
