Acting FEMA Head ‘Summoned’ to DHS and Fired Hours After Saying He Opposed Shuttering the Agency

AP Photo/Makiya Seminera

Cameron Hamilton, the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was fired Thursday morning just hours after publicly stating his opposition to eliminating the agency.

Hamilton was “summoned” to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters around 7:30 a.m., according to a report by Politico.

There, Deputy DHS Secretary Troy Edgar and White House adviser Corey Lewandowski informed him that his services were no longer needed. Politico reported:

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 reportedly returned to FEMA headquarters shortly afterward and cleared out his office.

The dismissal came just hours after Hamilton testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday.

During that hearing, he explicitly stated he did not support dismantling FEMA, an idea floated by President Doamld Trump.

“I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told lawmakers. “FEMA plays a critical role in coordinating federal disaster response efforts and supporting communities in times of crisis.”

Hamilton had served as acting administrator since January. A Navy veteran, he was appointed to the post by the Biden administration after serving in various homeland security roles.

Following his ouster, a Department of Homeland Security official confirmed to Politico that David Richardson had quickly been appointed as Hamilton’s replacement.

Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in January, two days after his inauguration, he was considering nixing FEMA after Democrats ruing the agency..

“What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole ‘nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything,” he said. “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama, tornadoes. But unless you have certain types of leadership, it’s really– it gets in the way. And FEMA is gonna be a whole big discussion very shortly because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems.”