FEMA Reform: Leadership Instability and the Road Ahead

On May 11, 2026, Cameron Hamilton was nominated director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If he passes the Senate confirmation hearing, he will be the fifth acting director of FEMA in the past 16 months. By contrast, Deanne Criswell held the role for four years straight (2021-2025).  

Hamilton’s nomination appears to be good news, as his professional background lacks the scandal that plagued the fraught terms of ex-director David Richardson and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s then-secretary Kristi Noem. (FEMA is part of DHS.) This piece will unpack the agency’s recent history since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025 and offer comments on a report regarding FEMA’s future.

2025 Catastrophes

Natural disasters put FEMA to the test in 2025. In January, California experienced two of the largest wildfires in the state’s history—the Eaton and Palisades fires, which took 440 lives. Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida’s Gulf Coast in September and October, leaving a trail of destruction as they made their way north. (Helene took 232 lives; Milton took 15.) Flooding in Kerr County, Texas, took 119 lives in July.

FEMA Review Council

In early 2025, a debate raged in much of the media over whether FEMA should be reformed or eliminated. The White House issued an executive order on Jan. 24 establishing the FEMA Review Council to study and make recommendations about the agency’s future.

Co-chaired by Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the 12-member review council was made up of emergency managers as well as current and former elected officials. The council met several times throughout the year for public hearings and traveled across the country to conduct “listening sessions” to understand how FEMA acted both during and after disaster strikes. The deadline for presentation of the final report was October 2025; however, the council missed the deadline and would go on to revise and miss it three more times, finally postponing the presentation to May 2026 via a new executive order. Noem ultimately reduced the council’s report from 160 pages to 20 pages.

A Revolving Door

In late March 2025, the DHS gave Hamilton a lie detector test to determine if he had leaked information about a private meeting in which Noem reportedly stated the council’s intent to “eliminate FEMA.” Two months later, Hamilton faced questions during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security oversight hearing on FEMA operations, where he stated: “I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Because this opinion was not in keeping with the White House’s rhetoric about complete FEMA elimination, Hamilton was fired the following day—just months into his tenure as acting administrator of the agency.

Noem appointed Richardson as Hamilton’s successor on May 8, 2025. Richardson served for approximately six months before submitting his resignation on Nov. 17 following reports of a botched response to the Texas floods. Karen Evans took over as acting FEMA administrator on Dec. 1, serving for just over five months before being removed and temporarily replaced by Robert Fenton on May 12, 2026. The date for Hamilton’s confirmation hearing has yet to be announced.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The FEMA Review Council released its long-awaited final report on May 7, 2026. Well-written and well argued, the report contains 10 recommendations for reforming disaster management delivery. Importantly, the council chose to reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities program (previously eliminated in April 2025), which provides critical funding for projects that mitigate disaster losses. The report also emphasizes the importance of homeowners insurance, recommending a “take-out” program to transfer National Flood Insurance Program policies to the private insurance market. Other recommendations include having states take the lead in managing disaster assistance, reducing administrative costs, and realigning the criteria for federal disaster assistance.

Culture Over Strategy

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Often erroneously attributed to management guru Peter Drucker, this maxim means that—regardless of how brilliant a company’s strategy or plan may be—it is vastly more important for it to be executed by those who share a culture that encourages people to embrace and implement a sound plan. This is especially important in the context of a federal government rife with silent opposition, backbiting, sabotage, retribution, slow walking, and turnover. Will the FEMA reform plan succeed? It can, if the rank-and-file members of FEMA’s workforce believe in it and pull in the same direction.