The Trump administration is seeking to reinstate former Acting Secretary Cameron Hamilton and hundreds of previously released staffers.
Days after a President Trump-appointed council recommended sweeping operational changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), former acting administrator Cameron Hamilton has been named the person to take back control of the agency. The nomination comes a year after Mr. Hamilton was ousted in a clash with the president and administration officials, including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Mr. Hamilton’s return comes in tandem with the reinstatement of about 200 former FEMA workers who lost their jobs in the cleanup, which is currently under scrutiny as part of a lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Public Employees and other groups.
Some of the reinstated employees last year signed a public document known as the “Katrina Declaration,” warning that the agency’s capacity was diminished. More than a dozen employees took paid leave for eight months and then returned to the team.
“As the 2026 hurricane season and FIFA World Cup approach, FEMA is taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and increase preparedness,” a FEMA spokesperson said. “Under new leadership, FEMA is committed to human resources excellence to ensure workforce stability and a strong, deployable force for future national events and potential disasters.”
Hamilton’s friction with the Trump administration began with his appearance at a House Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on May 7, 2025. According to Reuters, Homeland Security officials stripped Hamilton of his security pass and ordered him to cancel his scheduled testimony, but he refused. In subsequent testimony, Mr. Hamilton opposed plans to dismantle the agency.
But Hamilton’s own tenure was not without controversy, according to The Associated Press, which cited multiple FEMA officials on condition of anonymity. He reportedly canceled the program, which was later reinstated by a federal judge, halted door-to-door outreach to survivors, provided the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with access to survivors’ personal information, fired employees who process reimbursement payments to New York City for the agency’s programs, and “shared X’s posts promoting false information about FEMA spending during Hurricane Helen.”
Prior to Hamilton’s reinstatement announcement, the FEMA Review Council had recommended changes aimed at streamlining the process for disaster survivors to obtain relief funds, raising standards for federal disaster recovery interventions and reducing the National Flood Insurance Program.
“A transformed agency should implement a common sense approach to realigning the standards for federal disaster declaration standards to shift responsibility back to states, tribes, and territories,” the report says. It also recommends a “comprehensive reform plan centered on a strategic shift to a key role for the private market, with the aim of fostering a more resilient and financially stable flood risk management system.”
The council is comprised of city, state and federal government representatives, including Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense; Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas. And others.
An earlier draft of the council’s report also called for cutting FEMA’s workforce in half and changing the agency’s name, National Public Radio reported. These recommendations were not incorporated into the final draft.
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