Will the Trump Administration Let Cameron Hamilton Do His Job Protecting Americans?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following reports that President Trump will nominate previously-ousted Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, it’s important to ask whether the administration will allow Hamilton to actually do his job supporting Americans through disaster recovery and investing in resilience infrastructure, or whether they will continue the chaos and delays that have plagued disaster response under Secretary Kristi Noem's leadership.
Hamilton's nomination comes as FEMA faces a crisis of credibility and capacity. FEMA has billions in outstanding public assistance owed to communities still waiting for reimbursement, while individual survivors face high denial rates and inadequate aid amounts. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program was terminated and only recently re-opened by court order. The Trump administration’s approach ignores the fact that every dollar invested in hazard mitigation saves $13 dollars in future disaster costs.
"Cameron Hamilton deserves a fair confirmation process, but Americans deserve answers about whether this administration will actually let him do his job," said Tory Gavito, Sabotaging Our Safety Council member. "Will Hamilton be allowed to pay the billions in outstanding public assistance owed to communities? And most critically: will Hamilton be free to make disaster declarations and distribute federal aid solely on the basis of need? Or, like we’ve seen time and time again, will political considerations continue to influence who gets help and who doesn't?”
Sabotaging Our Safety has been demanding FEMA become an independent cabinet-level agency following a year of incompetence and politicization that left millions facing disasters in danger. The organization continues to call for transparent data-sharing with Congress, accountability in disaster aid allocation, and an end to the diversion of FEMA resources away from their core mission of protecting Americans from disasters.
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