The FEMA candidate pressed on whether Trump favored requests from GOP states for disaster funding

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday that if confirmed, he would ensure natural disaster recovery efforts are “objective” and “fair.”

Cameron Hamilton, who served as acting head of the agency before being fired and ultimately nominated by the president for Senate confirmation, has faced criticism from members of both political parties over the agency’s response time.

But it was Democrats who repeatedly pressed Hamilton on whether states controlled by Republicans should receive disproportionately more disaster declarations than blue states.

“I certainly appreciate your concern,” Hamilton said. “What I can tell you is that if confirmed, I will focus on ensuring that FEMA is objective, fair and reasonable, follows the law and takes a consistent approach to adjudicating and processing disaster claims and applications.”

Hamilton previously served as acting head of FEMA in the Trump administration, but was repressed after testifying before Congress that he did not believe the agency should be abolished.

Almost exactly a year after Trump was ousted officially nominated Hamilton became FEMA administrator by sending his documents to the Senate without much fanfare.

Trump has repeatedly voiced complaints during his second term about how the federal government prepares for and responds to natural disasters, saying he believes much of the responsibility should be shifted to the states.

“We want to get away from FEMA and move it to the state level,” Trump said in June 2025. “We’re moving it back to the states so the governors can deal with it. That’s why they’re governors. If they can’t handle it, they shouldn’t be governors.”

A review board created by Trump to recommend revisions to FEMA published his recommendations in May and called on state governments to take more responsibility. So far, lawmakers have not taken any significant action to implement any of the proposals.

Favored by the red state?

Senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee did not ask Hamilton about his downfall during the campaign Confirmation hearingeven though they questioned him about FEMA staffing cuts and why the Trump administration appears to favor Republican states.

Michigan Democratic Senator Gary Peters, the committee’s ranking member, referred to a News article Politico published in March that Democratic states had 23% of their disaster funding requests approved, compared to 89% in Republican-controlled states.

“No other president has created such inequality among states receiving federal disaster assistance,” Peters said. “Rejecting over 75% of applications from states led by representatives of another party is unreasonable.”

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan also questioned Hamilton about the disparity, saying it was “unacceptable” that federal disaster aid would be approved based on the people’s vote.

“The idea that Americans who need assistance after a tornado, flood or hurricane should be treated differently based on political considerations is shameful,” she said.

Hassan then asked Hamilton if he agreed “that politics and partisan considerations should not play a role in approving disaster relief.”

Hamilton said this, later adding that he did not believe Trump would withhold disaster declarations or aid for political reasons.

Hawley finds FEMA “slow” and “often ill-informed”

Democrats weren’t the only members of the committee to express frustration with FEMA during the confirmation hearing.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri showed an enlarged photo of St. Louis after tornadoes and said FEMA took far too long to provide assistance to residents.

“As you can see, the devastation is absolutely incredible,” Hawley said. “I’ve walked these streets myself. There are completely destroyed buildings, completely flattened houses, churches whose roofs have been torn off, whose shrines have been completely destroyed, streets that have been torn up. And the problem is that many of these neighborhoods don’t look much different now because in some cases they are still waiting for help.”

Hawley said this was not an isolated incident and that he found FEMA’s response to natural disasters to be “slow” and “often ill-informed.”

Hamilton said he believes the agency’s “disaster declaration process, as well as the associated federal support, needs to be improved.”

“I believe states need to have better customer service. I have every confidence in the FEMA workforce, but we can do better,” Hamilton said. “And there are a whole range of areas where this process should be simplified and better understood, and we owe you answers, and much quicker.”

Positions are restored

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal pressed Hamilton on whether staffing cuts “jeopardize FEMA’s response.”

“I think FEMA is certainly operating in a unique environment where there are challenges and setbacks that impact our ability to respond,” Hamilton said.

Blumenthal then asked whether Hamilton believes there are enough employees at FEMA and whether reduced staffing levels could cause the agency to lose more people.

“I agree that FEMA’s workforce must be scalable to best meet the needs of the agency and the execution of the program and mission,” Hamilton said.

Blumenthal pressed again, asking whether the agency’s leadership needs to “restore staffing levels essential to its morale and responsiveness.”

Hamilton said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has approved the repatriation of nearly 350 positions “to fill critical vacancies in key program offices and key responsibilities.”

Western countries need a different approach

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego urged Hamilton, if confirmed, to approach aid to western states that own immense swaths of federal land differently than states on the East Coast.

“I just want to emphasize that the one-size-fits-all approach to disaster relief for the West is simply not working,” he said. “And this isn’t red state versus blue state or anything like that.”

Gallego urged Hamilton to ensure the agency takes state specifics into account, saying if his state is hit by a wildfire, FEMA would have to replant trees to prevent severe flooding.

“Sometimes FEMA doesn’t pay for the replanting and reseeding of our forests, which will lead to even greater disasters a year from now,” he said.

Hamilton said he understands the “unique paradigm” some states face since he grew up on the West Coast and “has a family that lost their home to fires and other significant natural disasters in the West.”

Hamilton said he believes FEMA’s pre-disaster grants, which are intended to reduce risk and prepare states for future natural disasters, “should be uniquely suited to address the challenges and threats each state faces on the nuanced issues.”