Acting FEMA Director Fired by Trump Administration

Cameron Hamilton, acting Federal Emergency Management Agency director, was fired Thursday, multiple national media outlets reported.

Hamilton’s ouster came one day after he testified before the House Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee, where he advocated for “top-down reform” at the agency.

“FEMA was established to provide focused support in truly catastrophic disasters. Yet at times, we have strayed far from that core mission and evolved into an overextended federal bureaucracy — attempting to manage every type of emergency, no matter how minor,” he said. “Instead of being a last resort, FEMA is all too often used by states and public officials as a financial backstop for routine issues that, frankly, should be handled locally.”

Later, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a democrat representing Connecticut’s third congressional district, asked Hamilton whether he supported the Trump administration’s intent to eliminate the agency.

“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,” he said before adding that the decision wasn’t up to him. “That is a conversation that should be had between the president of the United States and this governing body.”

President Donald Trump has mentioned eliminating the agency multiple times since his second term began in January. Speaking during a press conference on the devastating California fires in January, Trump called the agency “a big disappointment.”