Senate Approves Cameron Hamilton as FEMA Chief Among 73 Nominees

WHO:

PBS - Cameron Hamilton confirmed as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

PBS - David Cummins confirmed as head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

PBS - Daniel Perez confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Brazil.

AP - Markwayne Mullin, former Oklahoma Senator, is the successor to Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.

AP - Pete Gaynor, FEMA administrator in Trump's first term, supports Hamilton's confirmation.

WHAT:

PBS - The Senate confirmed 74 nominations, including Hamilton, Cummins, and Perez.

AP - Hamilton will oversee an agency with more than 20,000 employees and manage over 1,000 open disaster declarations.

AP - More than 4,300 employees separated from FEMA in the 2025 budget year, with over 1,500 through voluntary reductions.

AP - Trump approved 80% of disaster requests from Republican governors and 60% from Democratic governors.

AP - Hamilton stated, "We would need to strike a new balance to encourage cost reasonableness and cost savings."

WHERE:

PBS - FEMA is a federal agency in the United States.

AP - The Senate confirmed the nominations in Washington, D.C.

WHEN:

PBS - Hamilton was named FEMA's temporary leader in January 2025.

AP - Hamilton was fired the day after he opposed the elimination of FEMA in May 2025.

AP - The Senate confirmed the nominations on a Friday.

WHY:

PBS - Hamilton's nomination indicates Trump may be moving away from the idea of eliminating FEMA.

AP - Democrats accuse Trump of politicizing disaster relief.

HOW:

PBS - Hamilton pledged to ensure FEMA is "objective, is fair and reasonable, follows the law, and is consistent in the approach to how we adjudicate and process claims and requests for disasters."

AP - Mullin has rehired some eliminated positions and rescinded a rule that required secretary approval for expenses over $100,000.

(UPDATED August 8, 2026 16:28 UTC)

The Senate has confirmed 74 nominations, including Cameron Hamilton as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Cummins as the head of the Transportation Security Administration, and Daniel Perez as the U.S. ambassador to Brazil. Hamilton, who previously served as FEMA's temporary leader, will now oversee an agency with more than 20,000 employees and manage over 1,000 open disaster declarations, while Markwayne Mullin, the new Department of Homeland Security secretary, has already begun rehiring some eliminated positions. Hamilton has pledged to ensure FEMA operates fairly and consistently, as he aims to strike a new balance in managing disaster relief, which has been a point of contention in the political landscape.