Trump renominates Cameron Hamilton to lead disaster response agency Fema

Hamilton was fired as acting administrator last year after he opposed plans to abolish the agency at a House hearing Donald Trump has once again nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), after Hamilton was previously fired for publicly opposing plans to abolish the agency. Hamilton was dismissed last year from his role as acting administrator of the disaster relief agency after testifying before a House appropriations subcommittee. During the hearing, he said: “I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Since returning to office last January, Trump has repeatedly moved to cut the agency, while vowing to shift greater responsibility for disaster preparedness to state and local governments. Kristi Noem, then homeland security secretary who oversaw a broad restructuring of Fema, echoed that approach, saying: “I think the president recognizes that Fema should not exist the way that it always has been.” However, recent shifts suggest the administration may be backing away from its earlier vows to abolish Fema entirely. Following Noem’s ouster over the summer and the a