Trump FEMA administrator says abolishing agency not in America's 'best interest'
Source: USA Today
May 7, 2025, 5:06 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but his acting FEMA administrator said that wouldnt be his recommendation.Lawmakers raised concerns about FEMA's future during a pair of House committee hearings this week as they reviewed the presidents budget for the disaster relief agency.
The budget proposes a $644 million cut, drawing criticism from Democrats. But their larger concern is Trumps comments suggesting he could eliminate the agency. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Illinois, said abolishing FEMA and pushing disaster recovery to the states is dangerous and unrealistic. Eliminating FEMA would cause catastrophic and needless suffering to the American public, Underwood said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, pressed acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton about abolishing the agency. To her relief, Hamilton said he didn't support doing away with FEMA.
I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hamilton said. Hamiltons comments were a notable break from the rhetoric of Trump and other administration officials.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/07/trump-fema-administrator-opposes-abolishing-agency/83499813007/
These members of Congress need to REITERATE that ONLY CONGRESS HAS THE AUTHORITY to eliminate an agency that was CREATED BY CONGRESS.

JustAnotherGen
(34,850 posts)But the reality is - if the maga Repub house, senate and president want to defund FEMA, there's no need for a Director. They just don't want to be out of a gravy train job.
BumRushDaShow
(152,004 posts)are the red states so they will be yelling at their MAGat governors. I forgot which news source where I saw an article but it was something about how Sarah Huckabee Sanders is being ignored by 45.
I did find some articles that mentioned that she made a 2nd request for disaster aid yesterday. E.g., - Arkansas governor makes second request for federal disaster aid
Picaro
(1,915 posts)Like anyone that bucks the MAGA narrative he has been summarily discarded.
Bengus81
(8,755 posts)He bud...your a hell of a lot better off being away from that orange ass POS.
LetMyPeopleVote
(162,757 posts)One day after acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton defended the agencys existence to Congress, he was kicked out of his job.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3loon7k5rik2c
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fema-chief-fired-cameron-hamilton-trump-rcna205676
And yet, Hamilton has been fired anyway. Politico reported:
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was fired Thursday morning, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Cameron Hamilton, FEMAs acting administrator, has told people that he was terminated, leaving the nations disaster agency without a top official three weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season and as Congress scrutinizes FEMAs proposed budget for fiscal 2026.
A Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Hamiltons departure to NBC News.
The timing of the developments is striking: Just one day before his ouster, Hamilton testified before a House Appropriations Committee panel and defended FEMAs existence, telling lawmakers, I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency......
Oddly enough, the morning after the congressional hearing, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote online that Hamiltons leadership at FEMA has been nothing short of amazing. Green added, Since taking the helm at FEMA, thousands of Americans have seen FEMAs promises fulfilled, from housing to disaster relief. President Trump made the right choice!
Right around the time the congressman published that message, Hamilton was kicked out of FEMA.
For what its worth, a DHS spokesperson told NBC News that Hamiltons ouster was unrelated to his testimony. Or put another way, the official line is that the firing of the acting FEMA director just one day after he took a public position that Trump didnt like is a coincidence.