Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem canned her acting FEMA chief on Thursday morning, a mere day after he publicly opposed President Donald Trump‘s plan to cut the agency’s resources by $644 million.
Former Navy Seal and failed congressional candidate Cameron Hamilton, who was appointed FEMA’s acting administrator by Trump in January, was escorted out of FEMA’s headquarters on Thursday morning, CNN reported.
Sources told Politico that Hamilton was given the pink slip after he was summoned to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar and MAGA hanger-on Corey Lewandowski—who has reportedly been acting as Noem’s chief of staff, the Wall Street Journal reported—delivered the news.
Hamilton’s ousting comes after he warned a House Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday against cutting the agency’s resources down.
“I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” said Hamilton during the hearing.
Yet on social media, Hamilton, a failed congress candidate, has previously been critical of FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and of the Biden administration’s management of border security.
“I saw the southern border. I saw what happened when the administration transitioned to January of 2021,” Hamilton told a Charlottesville, Virginia newspaper during his 2024 congressional campaign.
Hamilton worked as an emergency management specialist in the State Department and as a division director in the Department of Homeland Security before ascending to acting FEMA chief.
David Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer with reportedly no experience managing natural disasters, is set to take over as acting administrator, Politico reported.
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