Exclusive: FEMA chief was set to be fired before public break with Trump [View all]
Source: Reuters
May 25, 2025 6:04 AM EDT Updated 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - Before Cameron Hamilton headed to Capitol Hill on May 7 to testify about the Federal Emergency Management Agency he was leading, the former Navy SEAL cleaned out his desk, knowing that he would soon be fired. That morning officials with FEMA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, had called FEMA's security team to order them to revoke Hamilton's security pass and escort him from the building, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A tense back-and-forth ensued, with FEMA officials warning that Hamilton, the agency's acting administrator, would need to cancel his planned congressional testimony. That could fuel the perception of instability at the disaster relief agency, the FEMA officials cautioned, the three people said.
DHS officials relented and Hamilton testified that afternoon, telling lawmakers he did not support the dismantling of the agency, contradicting the position of President Donald Trump, who had said he was considering abolishing FEMA altogether. Hamilton's dismissal the following day was widely seen as punishment for his testimony, a view the White House did not contradict in its statements on his departure.
But the sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that Trump's allies already wanted him out for what they saw as insufficient action to strip down an agency where many staff increasingly viewed him as something of a protector despite being a Trump appointee. "Cameron wasn't fired for his testimony at that congressional committee hearing. He knew well in advance," Matt Strickland, a longtime friend of Hamilton, told Reuters. Hamilton did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fema-chief-was-set-be-fired-before-public-break-with-trump-2025-05-25/
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