On August 7 the Senate approved Cameron Hamilton as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator. Hamilton returns to the agency after having been ousted early in 2025 as FEMA’s acting head for resisting calls to eliminate the agency.

FEMA is home to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP has been the subject of reform efforts for years. The agency (and NFIP) chronically faces funding shortfalls along with efforts to redraw flood plane maps and other reforms. More NFIP reform proposals are expected in the future.

Hamilton, a former Navy Seal, has a background in security and emergency logistics. He testified before Congress when he was FEMA’s acting Administrator in 2025 that it is not in the best interests of the American public to dismantle or eliminate FEMA . That testimony led to his ouster. Now, it is expected that he will lead the Trump Administration’s effort to make policy changes that result in shifting a larger share of natural disaster costs onto state and local governments. He will also be influential in any effort to reform the NFIP.

Prospects: The cost of assisting areas all over the country with ongoing natural disasters—wildfires, floods, extreme storms, etc.—will challenge FEMA, as will the ongoing effort to reform the NFIP. Hamilton said at his confirmation hearing that there is a need to balance between cost reasonableness and cost savings.

NAIFA Staff Contact: Mike Hedge – Senior Director – Government Relations, at mhedge@naifa.org.