Former Navy Seal Cameron Hamilton has been nominated to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) again. He was Acting Director of FEMA until President Trump fired him last year for dragging his feet on dismantling the agency. Trump doesn’t usually bring back people he fires so what is up with that?

The AP had the story last night:

President Donald Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton Monday to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a notable comeback for the former Navy SEAL who was fired from his role as FEMA’s temporary leader last year after he defended its existence.

His nomination comes as the Trump administration has increasingly signaled it is backing away from promises to dismantle FEMA, an agency that has faced withering criticism by the president. The nomination of Hamilton, who argued abolishing FEMA was not in the country’s best interests, is the latest indication of that change.

If confirmed, Hamilton would be the principal adviser to Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on emergency management and FEMA’s first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term. The agency has gone through three temporary leaders, including Hamilton’s brief tenure from January to May 2025.

The gist of the story is that the former Navy Seal didn’t cotton to abolishing FEMA as he had promised and so Trump fired him. Hamilton didn’t think that would work out long term. Now Trump is having second thoughts about abolishing FEMA and Hamilton is coming back. FEMA is an unnatural disaster.

But…what if Trump didn’t fire Hamilton?

Cameron Hamilton, who was pushed out as FEMA Administrator by Noem last year, has been renominated to the post by President Trump. Great to see—Hamilton did great work at FEMA during the time he was there. pic.twitter.com/i9y1bKUEWX

— Dr. Ben Braddock (@GraduatedBen) May 11, 2026

Aha! Things are becoming very clear. Kristi Noem fired the Navy veteran. Hmmm. Chomping on some bits of this Politico article from last year may help:

Cameron Hamilton will probably be an asterisk in the history of President Donald Trump’s second term.

But the former Navy SEAL, whom Trump hired and fired as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is writing his own chapter by highlighting what he says was administrative dysfunction following Trump’s assertion in January that FEMA should be abolished.

In a podcast interview, Hamilton revealed that he had a “very hostile relationship” with the Department of Homeland Security as officials pushed to shutter FEMA.

“The relationship with DHS and myself really became adversarial in a way that was really unnecessary,” Hamilton said Wednesday on the Disaster Tough Podcast in his first interview since being fired in May. Hamilton said he warned DHS officials that their comments about abolishing the agency was “really divisive language” and “extremely unwise.”

“That’s when the divide started to happen between myself and DHS leadership, [which was saying], ‘No, we don’t want it. We want it cut, shut down,’” recalled Hamilton, a conservative supporter of Trump. “My argument was, ‘This is extremely irresponsible.’”

Well, I am not a big fan of FEMA but I can see how loose talk would be a bad thing. More:

Hamilton did not name Noem during the hourlong interview, but he implicitly assailed her. Noem gave Hamilton a lie detector test in March to determine if he had leaked information about a private meeting between senior officials to POLITICO’s E&E News.

“They said in their statement my character, my judgment, my stability, my ethics were all in question,” Hamilton said of the DHS press office. “I wanted to choke some people, that’s for sure.”

“When my character started being attacked, and I was polygraphed … it became a very hostile relationship,” Hamilton said, adding that he passed the test “and there was no apology.”

Dayam, Kristi Noem has big cojones attacking a former Navy Seal that way. FEMA is under the umbrella of DHS. Noem is fired and Markwayne Mullin brings back Hamilton. Clear as a bell. Others beside Markwayne Mullin are happy about this new turn.

🚨HOLY CRAP!!!

Former Navy Seal, Cameron Hamilton, has been nominated by President Trump to be FEMA Director FOR A 2ND TIME!!!!

Cameron was an EXTREMELY vocal critic of FEMA’s response in Western North Carolina and was fired by Kristi Noem last year.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP… pic.twitter.com/VUu4OJV8DQ

— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) May 11, 2026

Matthew Van Swol knows of what he speaks. There is this also:

Just a reminder of who Cameron Hamilton is…

He is our hero.

He is the only man who should run FEMA @POTUS @CameronVA https://t.co/ZO0Dk59zii

— Erin Derham (@HistoryBoutique) May 11, 2026

Sounds like Hamilton has a fan club. When people suffer a natural disaster than need on the spot help. Right away. I have always thought that should be at the state level. I am willing to be convinced that Federal is the right place.

Good luck and best wishes to Cameron Hamilton.

Featured Image: FEMA/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Public Domain