President Trump Fires FEMA Chief

The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been fired.

Cameron Hamilton, the FEMA administrator, was fired by Trump just one day after he broke from the Trump administration’s stance on FEMA’s future while testifying before the House Appropriations Committee.

Hamilton, who was appointed by President Trump, was seen being escorted out of FEMA Headquarters on Thursday.

Just one day before getting fired, Hamilton told lawmakers, “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 the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”

Hamilton’s comments go against the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the agency.

Exclusive: FEMA chief is fired, leaving the nation’s disaster agency without a top official three weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. https://t.co/seCSeIEwPU

— POLITICO (@politico) May 8, 2025

Check out what CNN reported:

The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fired one day after he broke with fellow members of the administration when he told lawmakers he does not support dismantling the agency, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Cameron Hamilton, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, was escorted out of FEMA’s headquarters on Thursday, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

“It’s at the discretion of (Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem) to have the personnel she prefers,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN, confirming that DHS official David Richardson will take over for Hamilton effective immediately. McLaughlin declined to explain why Hamilton was removed from the post.

The move comes one day after Hamilton defended FEMA during testimony in front of the House Appropriations Committee.

“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 the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told the committee Wednesday. “Having said that, I am not in a position to make decisions and impact outcomes on whether or not a determination as consequential as that should be made. That is a conversation that should be had between the President of the United States and this governing body.”

For months, both Trump and Noem, whose Department of Homeland Security oversees FEMA, have called for the agency to be “eliminated.” On Tuesday, Noem reaffirmed that stance when she took questions from the same House committee.

FEMA Chief Fired—Weeks Before Start Of Hurricane Seasonhttps://t.co/qL0omZAoDq pic.twitter.com/Jl34q8s3Tg

— Forbes (@Forbes) May 8, 2025

Per Politico:

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was fired Thursday morning, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

Cameron Hamilton, FEMA’s acting administrator, has told people that he was terminated, leaving the nation’s disaster agency without a top official three weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season and as Congress scrutinizes FEMA’s proposed budget for fiscal 2026.

Hamilton was summoned to Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington on Thursday morning and told of his termination by Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar and Corey Lewandowski, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, according to a person with direct knowledge.

Hamilton was driven back to FEMA headquarters a few miles away, where he cleared out his desk and left, the person told POLITICO’s E&E News.

FEMA confirmed the news.

The firing occurred one day after Hamilton told a House Appropriations subcommittee that the nation needs FEMA, which Trump has suggested abolishing or shrinking.

Cameron Hamilton, FEMA’s acting administrator, was summoned to @DHSgov HQ on Thursday morning and told of his termination by Dep Secretary Troy Edgar and Corey Lewandowski

He was driven back to FEMA headquarters, where he cleared out his desk and left https://t.co/vfNhUO96Xg

— Kelly McKinney (@kellymnyc) May 8, 2025