FEMA chief tells states they shouldn’t count on disaster aid under Trump

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Cameron Hamilton has told state officials that they should build up their own cash reserves and response capacity so they can manage most disasters without Washington's help. At a Little Rock, Arkansas, conference Tuesday, he gave the most detailed account yet of the Trump administration's plan to shift disaster duties to the states, according to a recording Politico obtained, according to MS NOW.

Hamilton said recovery should be able to begin right away rather than waiting on the federal declaration process, and he voiced hope for a future in which states are so capable that fewer disasters require federal declarations. He said changes should start in earnest within six months.

Hamilton was dismissed as acting chief in May 2025, a day after telling Congress that FEMA should continue to exist. Trump has said he wants the agency eliminated. A year later Hamilton returned to lead it and won Senate confirmation. MS NOW commentator Steve Benen argues the model cannot work because states lack the money, staff and equipment for major disasters. Longtime emergency management official Eric Holdeman wrote on LinkedIn that presidents of any party would ignore a limit on declarations when politically convenient.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →