FEMA Shake-Up: President Trump Nominates Former Leader as Reform Council Pushes Major Changes
The administration is turning to a former leader to help reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as it moves to implement a slate of reform recommendations that are designed to streamline the agency and decentralize power.
President Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton to be FEMA Administrator about one year after he was fired from his role as acting administrator. If confirmed, Hamilton would be FEMA’s first permanent administrator in the second Trump administration. Hamilton was fired in May 2025 after telling Congress he does “not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
Hamilton previously said he believes FEMA needs major reform, noting the agency needs to move faster and that some states have become too dependent on FEMA.
Still, his actions while acting administrator, such as ending door-to-door canvassing to reach survivors after a disaster, drew criticism from career FEMA officials.
"I think he's going to need to rebuild trust across the agency," said Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator under former President Joe Biden.
FEMA Review Council Report
The Hamilton nomination comes as President Trump’s FEMA Review Council released its final report, recommending staff changes and transferring more power to local authorities.
However, the report focuses more heavily on restructuring FEMA’s workforce and operations than on across-the-board staffing cuts.
The report recommends downsizing the agency by “rebalancing” how many people work in regional offices as opposed to the agency’s DC headquarters to “reduce the agency’s bureaucratic bloat.” The report says FEMA should conduct a strategic review to accomplish that goal.
The report acknowledged FEMA’s understaffing but said the agency’s performance was affected by “bureaucracy and mission creep.”
“Although personnel gaps were routinely highlighted as a challenge, it was left unspoken that the root problem was the expanding mission portfolio, not simply personnel,” the council’s report states.
The recommendation on staffing comes as FEMA recently reinstated dozens of employees who had previously been suspended. FEMA also started offering jobs to contract workers who were let go earlier this year.
Other recommendations include shifting more capabilities to state and local governments. That includes shifting oversight of federal grants to the state level and transitioning more flood insurance responsibilities to private carriers and state regulators.
“Locally executed, state managed and federally supported — that was our North Star,” said former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant, a panel member.
The recommendations will go to President Trump for his review. Many of the changes would require legislative action from Congress.
Critics say the changes would weaken FEMA.
“At a time when disasters are becoming more severe and more costly, Americans need a stronger Federal emergency management system — not one in retreat,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee.
