Cameron Hamilton (born 1986) is an American business executive and government official who served as the acting administrator of the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

from January to May 2025. Before his FEMA appointment, he was director of business strategy for a defense contractor in Virginia. He previously served as a

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

. Hamilton was fired on May 8, 2025.

Career

Hamilton enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 2005, receiving an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

after ten years. He served as a supervisory emergency management specialist at the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

from 2015 to 2020. He then became director of emergency medical services at the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

, where he oversaw approximately 4,000 emergency medical technicians along the southern border until 2023. Hamilton contested the 2024 Republican primary for

Virginia's 7th congressional district Virginia's seventh congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia. The district encompasses a vast swath of Northern Virginia, Northern and Greater Richmond Region, Central Virginia ...

, finishing second with 37.2% of the vote behind Derrick Anderson's 45.2%. Anderson subsequently lost the general election to

Eugene Vindman Eugene Semyon Vindman (born Yevgeny Semyonovich Vindman; June 6, 1975) is an American politician, lawyer, and retired U.S. Army officer serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district since 2025. A member of the De ...

by a narrow margin. Following his primary defeat, Hamilton became vice president of Feds for Freedom, a conservative nonprofit organization. He gained prominence on social media for his criticism of FEMA's response to

Hurricane Helene Hurricane Helene ( ) was a deadly and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to ...

during the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

. Hamilton's selection as acting FEMA administrator departed from post-

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

precedent, where the agency had been led by disaster management professionals with state or local emergency management experience. On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Hamilton appeared before a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security where he advocated for the agency, saying, "I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency." He was fired the next day and replaced with another acting administrator.Megerian, Chris, Aoun, Gabriela,
FEMA’s acting administrator is replaced a day after congressional testimony
', The Associated Press, May 8, 2025

Personal life

Hamilton is married and has three children. He is

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Cameron 1980s births American businesspeople Living people Federal Emergency Management Agency officials Second Trump administration personnel Virginia Republicans