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BumRushDaShow

(153,381 posts)
Thu May 8, 2025, 02:22 PM May 8

FEMA head ousted one day after saying eliminating agency not in public's interest

Source: The Hill

05/08/25 2:16 PM ET


The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was fired Thursday, one day after telling lawmakers he did not think it was in the public’s interest to eliminate the agency.

A FEMA spokesperson confirmed Cameron Hamilton was no longer serving as acting administrator. That role is now being filled by David Richardson, who was appointed in January as assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. Politico first reported on Hamilton’s firing.

Hamilton testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, where he was asked about the push from the Trump administration to get rid of FEMA and largely turn over disaster response to the states. “I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told lawmakers.

He added that he was not in a position to make such a decision and that it should be between the White House and Congress to determine what was the most logical use of federal funding for emergency response. Hamilton’s ouster also comes just weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5290399-fema-administrator-fired/



REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143455199
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FEMA head ousted one day after saying eliminating agency not in public's interest (Original Post) BumRushDaShow May 8 OP
All I can say is Ray Bruns May 8 #1
Absolute yes men (and women) need only apply. hadEnuf May 8 #2
How dare he thinking that government exists to better the lives of its citizens question everything May 8 #3
Good luck Florida and Texas The Madcap May 8 #4
No Sh*t! Fascism does Not Exist Cha May 8 #5
Madow Blog-Why a Trump-appointed FEMA chief was unexpectedly ousted LetMyPeopleVote May 8 #6
Quick De-capitation. Occupational hazard of honest agency heads. delisen May 8 #7

LetMyPeopleVote

(163,804 posts)
6. Madow Blog-Why a Trump-appointed FEMA chief was unexpectedly ousted
Thu May 8, 2025, 08:28 PM
May 8

One day after acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton defended the agency’s existence to Congress, he was kicked out of his job.

It's obviously an insanely busy day, but the firing of the Trump-appointed FEMA chief — a conservative Republican and military vet — is among the more outlandish things to happen in Trump World today. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-05-08T19:24:05.442Z

It's obviously an insanely busy day, but the firing of the Trump-appointed FEMA chief — a conservative Republican and military vet — is among the more outlandish things to happen in Trump World today.



https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fema-chief-fired-cameron-hamilton-trump-rcna205676

In fact, when the president appointed him to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hamilton actually seemed like one of Trump’s more qualified personnel choices, given his background as an emergency management specialist at the State Department during Trump’s first term and his work as the director of the Emergency Medical Services Division at the Department of Homeland Security.

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, 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.


A Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Hamilton’s 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 FEMA’s 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 Hamilton’s leadership at FEMA has been “nothing short of amazing.” Green added, “Since taking the helm at FEMA, thousands of Americans have seen FEMA’s 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 it’s worth, a DHS spokesperson told NBC News that Hamilton’s 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 didn’t like is a coincidence.

delisen

(6,999 posts)
7. Quick De-capitation. Occupational hazard of honest agency heads.
Thu May 8, 2025, 09:18 PM
May 8

Off with their heads!

Alice was fortunate that she was only dreaming. We are not so fortunate.

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