On May 7, the Acting FEMA Administrator, Cameron Hamilton, appeared before the House Appropriations Committee. Hamilton has few qualifications for the job beyond loyalty to the President. So, it came as a stunning surprise when he praised the FEMA staff as “one of the greatest workforces in the entire federal government” and provide a realistic appraisal of needed improvements in the agency. When questioned about the possibility of eliminating FEMA, he replied, “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 made it clear that this was his recommendation and that the decision about FEMA’s continued existence was not his to make but rather the responsibility of the President and Congress.
Cameron Hamilton was fired on May 8.
While no reason was given for Hamilton’s firing, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem had testified the previous day, “President Trump has been very clear since the beginning that he believes that FEMA and its response in many, many circumstances has failed the American people, and that FEMA, as it exists today, should be eliminated in empowering states to respond to disasters with federal government support.” Noem’s comments and Hamilton’s firing for apparently expressing a conflicting opinion, is yet another indicator that FEMA is on the chopping block.
Hamilton was replaced by David Richardson, Assistant Secretary, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, a part-timer with no emergency management experience. According to CNN, Richardson has replaced over half a dozen long-time FEMA leaders with DHS staffers who have no experience in emergency management or senior management. Like Richardson, they are part-timers who will be splitting their FEMA duties with their current DHS duties. In a meeting with FEMA employees, Richardson threatened that he would “run over” any of the staff that resisted his intentions to implement the President’s agenda and stated. “I, and I alone in FEMA, speak for FEMA.” Employees later told CBS that the speech was “unhinged” and “terrifying.”
Richardson has stated that FEMA has no plan in place for the hurricane season that begins on June 1st. This is not surprising, considering that FEMA lost some 200 employees immediately and over 1000 employees (about 20% of the existing workforce) are expected to take a voluntary buyout. Since many of these employees were assigned to response duties, this represents a significant loss of experience and talent at a critical time for the agency Recall that a 2022 GAO report found that FEMA was understaffed by at least 35%. This is coupled with the cancellation of funding for preparedness and mitigation programs intended to help jurisdictions prepare for disasters such as the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. With the lack of plan, a shortage of experienced response staff, the departure of many leaders, and low morale, FEMA is poorly positioned to deal with a major disaster. It will most likely fail catastrophically, adding further fuel to Republican demands for its elimination.
A further indicator that the elimination of FEMA has already been decided is the composition of the FEMA Review Committee. Of the thirteen members of the committee, only three are emergency managers, two of whom are from Republican states. The governor of one of those states is also on the committee, raising doubts that his emergency manager will stray far from the party line. In all, eleven of the committee members are Republicans. You can find more information in my recent article, President Names FEMA Review Council Members: Can You Say, “Stacked Deck?”
So where does the elimination of FEMA leave us? When Republican officials complain about FEMA, they tend to focus on recovery programs. They do not seem to realize that FEMA does not manage a disaster; that is the job of the state and local governments. What FEMA does is coordinate the delivery of direct federal assistance by tasking and reimbursing federal agencies as requested. Are state agencies prepared to coordinate and reimburse the activities of some numerous federal agencies? Does the financial and legislative authority even exist for this?
With regards to recovery programs, FEMA has been accused of being overly bureaucratic. It’s fair criticism but a lot of it is because FEMA must meet application requirements put into place by Congress to reduce fraud. Are states prepared to manage these programs? Do they have sufficient staff to conduct inspections, determine eligibility, disburse funds, and pursue fraudulent claims? What about determining eligible costs for response activities or auditing reconstruction costs?
There are other ways to reduce recovery bureaucracy and streamline the delivery of assistance. On May 8, Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) released draft legislation that would significantly reform FEMA. The bill, Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025, would return FEMA to a cabinet position, streamline the public assistance program and reduce the backlog of disasters to be closed out, and simplify application for and delivery of individual assistance. In short, it attempts to address the real problems that hamper FEMA rather than just eliminating the agency to score political points.
But disaster assistance is still only a drop in the bucket. In my recent article, What the Public Doesn’t Know About FEMA, I wrote about the many “behind the scenes" missions that FEMA has. This includes the grants that fund many emergency management offices. Without this funding, many small offices would close unless their costs are assumed by state or local governments. FEMA serves as a source of doctrine that brings cohesion to emergency response. This doctrine provides a basis for both higher education curricula and for professional training by both public and private agencies. Losing FEMA means the end of the cohesive emergency management system that has taken over seven decades to build. Once it is gone, it can never be replaced.
The phrase, “Dead Man Walking” is commonly used to describe a person on their way to execution or someone in a doomed or untenable situation. The deck appears stacked against FEMA but if the President’s own appointee can find the courage to speak the truth, there may still be hope. To quote Dr. Martin Luther King, “Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.”