Trump’s push to eliminate FEMA draws backlash from Republican senators
Senate Republicans expressed alarm after President Trump fired the Federal Emergency Management Agency's acting director for testifying that closing the agency would harm disaster response efforts.
Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill.
In short:
- Cameron Hamilton, acting FEMA director, was fired after telling Congress that dismantling FEMA would hurt the nation’s disaster readiness.
- Republican senators, including Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Lisa Murkowski, objected to Hamilton’s dismissal and opposed the agency’s elimination, citing the need for federal disaster coordination.
- Hamilton’s removal raises concerns about retaliation against administration officials who speak candidly under oath, with some GOP lawmakers calling the move “troubling” and “too frequent.”
Key quote:
“As the senior adviser to the president on disasters and emergency management, and to the secretary of Homeland Security, I do not believe it is in the best interest [of] the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
— Cameron Hamilton, former acting FEMA director
Why this matters:
FEMA coordinates disaster response across the country, and its role has expanded as climate-driven disasters increase in frequency and intensity, straining infrastructure and emergency systems. Dismantling it — or even reducing its authority — would disrupt national coordination at a time when large-scale weather events are becoming more common. And the political pressure now facing career officials for testifying truthfully could chill open communication between agencies and Congress, threatening the transparency needed for effective governance.
For more: Trump’s deregulation and FEMA cuts put Mississippi River and others at extreme risk, report warns
