FEMA chief fired after breaking with Trump on disaster agency’s future
WASHINGTON — Cameron Hamilton, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been ousted from his position by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a day after he told lawmakers in a hearing that he did not support eliminating his agency.
The leadership change comes at a time when the agency, which is in charge of coordinating the federal government’s response to disasters, is helping states and local communities prepare for the onset of hurricane season on June 1.
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Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL who was tapped to lead FEMA in January at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, will be replaced by David Richardson, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency.
Trump and Noem have been critical of FEMA and both have suggested shrinking or eliminating the agency entirely.
During a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Hamilton appeared to go against Trump and Noem.
“I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton said in response to a question by Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.
Hamilton acknowledged it was not his decision to make.
“That is a conversation that should be had between the president of the United States and this governing body.”
Hamilton had been leading efforts to reform the agency, overseeing steep cuts to staffing and proposing that FEMA reduce assistance to states for less serious disasters.
Some 2,000 FEMA employees have accepted incentives to leave or were terminated since the start of the Trump administration, shrinking its full-time staff by about one third, according to Michael Coen, former FEMA chief of staff under the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Deanne Criswell, who led FEMA for four years under Biden, said Richardson faced a tough challenge in quickly learning how the agency operates and establishing relationships with key staff with just weeks before hurricane season hits.
