David Hamilton, who was fired as acting FEMA administrator in May 2025 after contradicting then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before Congress, is now headed for a Senate confirmation hearing.
Hamilton testified to Congress that FEMA was essential to the country, directly contradicting Noem the day before she dismissed him from the role.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the original firing by telling reporters, “my understanding is that this individual testified saying something that was contrary to what the president believes.”
Trump has since fired Noem from her position at the Department of Homeland Security and retreated from his earlier vows to dismantle FEMA entirely.
Hamilton, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2024, was offered the job by Trump according to a source who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan was involved in securing Hamilton the nomination, according to people close to FEMA, marking an unusual path back to power for a figure who was publicly ousted.
Homeland Security Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voiced strong support for the nominee, writing on X, “I will move his nomination quickly through our committee,” and calling Hamilton “a great pick.”
Hamilton earned widespread goodwill inside FEMA during his 15 weeks as acting administrator, with colleagues citing his sincerity as a defining quality of his leadership style.
Despite the nomination signaling renewed White House support for FEMA, the agency enters the 2026 hurricane season with just under 20,000 employees, roughly 20 percent fewer than it had in January 2025, according to Office of Personnel Management data.
A former senior FEMA official painted a stark picture of the agency’s current state, saying, “There’s little to nothing left of the agency. It was all the right people who left,” and adding, “The ones that really matter are gone.”
Under Noem’s tenure, FEMA was hamstrung by a policy requiring her personal sign-off on all contracts exceeding $100,000, a bottleneck lawmakers alleged held up billions of dollars in disaster recovery funding.
Shana Udvardy, a senior climate policy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, argued in a blog post that Hamilton “lacks the experience and qualifications for the job as required.”
Hamilton’s confirmation hearing arrives at a critical moment, with the agency reduced in size and facing mounting pressure to respond effectively to natural disasters across the country.
