FEMA Doubts Persist as Mullin Pushes Leadership, Policy Reset

Months of upheaval have damaged the Federal Emergency Management Agency beyond swift repair, former officials warn, even as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin takes steps to stabilize the agency.

Mullin, who took the helm of DHS in March, has streamlined internal processes that slowed operations, tapped experienced leaders, and brought back staff from administrative leave after former Secretary Kristi Noem targeted FEMA with staff cuts and bureaucratic logjams, current and former employees said.

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Cameron Hamilton as FEMA administrator, a year after he was ousted amid disagreements with Noem. FEMA also tapped longtime official Bob Fenton to lead operations ahead of Hamilton’s confirmation, according to an internal email reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

The moves reinforce FEMA’s leadership and signal Mullin is serious about the mission, current and former officials said. Still, the turmoil of the past year, along with continued uncertainty about FEMA’s future, have had lasting effects on staffing, preparedness, and expertise, former officials said. The stakes are high. Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1.

“This isn’t a full reset. The agency has lost a significant amount of experienced personnel, especially at the senior and operational levels, and that expertise takes years to rebuild,” said Craig Fugate, who was FEMA’s administrator under Barack Obama.

The shift follows an aggressive push early in Trump’s second term to eliminate FEMA and move disaster response responsibilities to states. The effort drove out a significant share of the workforce and shuttered parts of the agency, according to current and former officials.

Now the agency is “taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness,” including rehiring staff and preparing for hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, according to FEMA spokesperson Victoria L. Barton.

One of Mullin’s early moves as secretary was eliminating a Noem policy that required all Department of Homeland Security spending above $100,000 to be reviewed by the secretary’s office. The process was especially disruptive for FEMA spending.

“Our readiness is stronger than ever, and we are prepared to meet any challenge that comes our way,” Mullin said last week at a FEMA Review Council meeting.

Testing Leadership

Hamilton and Fenton will be put to the test in how they navigate the push to overhaul the agency. FEMA Review Council members finalized recommendations at their meeting last week calling for an overhaul of the nation’s disaster response system. That includes reassessing FEMA staffing, placing more responsibility on state and local governments, and reviewing how federal disaster aid is distributed.

Michael Brown, who led FEMA during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina in the George W. Bush administration, said the council’s “core doctrine is sound.” He praised proposals to overhaul flood insurance and expand block grants, which give states more direct flexibility over how to spend portions of federal disaster recovery funding.

“The diagnosis is accurate. The prescribed medicine is largely correct,” Brown said. “The question—as always when it comes to any reform in DC—is whether Washington has the political will to actually swallow it.”

The recommendations aren’t binding, and many of the largest proposed changes would require congressional approval or action from the White House. Some changes may also be difficult for FEMA to implement after significant staffing losses, said Michael Coen, chief of staff during the Obama and Joe Biden administrations.

But FEMA’s new temporary leader, Fenton, and its administrator nominee, Hamilton, are seen as steady hands who can lead the agency through the prospective changes.

Fenton previously served as FEMA Region 9 administrator, overseeing disaster response and recovery operations across multiple western states and territories. He also held senior leadership roles at headquarters, including as acting administrator during presidential transitions.

Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, lacks the deep emergency management background of some past FEMA leaders but has management experience inside DHS. Current and former officials credited him for engaging directly with FEMA staff while acting head early last year, and for publicly defending the agency when pressed on Capitol Hill about Noem’s stated plans to “eliminate” it—though he’d earlier penned a memo outlining how to dismantle it.

Longtime Challenges

FEMA has long grappled with staffing challenges, even before the recent cuts, relying on a mix of full-time staff and reservists that can leave the agency stretched during back-to-back disasters. Oversight bodies, including the Government Accountability Office, have repeatedly flagged hiring delays, turnover, and retention issues, warning the structure can create gaps in experience and readiness during peak disaster seasons.

The workforce losses have been significant since Trump took office again. Thousands of employees left while DHS moved to scale back FEMA, government data shows.

“The first rule of getting out of a hole is to stop digging—and they’ve dug an enormous hole,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. He pointed to workforce losses and continued decline in morale.

DHS leadership must replenish FEMA’s broader workforce and rebuild internal support systems weakened by months of disruption, including human resources, facilities management, and acquisitions operations, Stier said.

FEMA has tried to rebuild some of those numbers during Mullin’s tenure. The agency has moved to reinstate employees who were placed on administrative leave last year after they signed the “Katrina Declaration”—a public letter warning Trump administration policies could weaken disaster response.

David Seide, an attorney with the Government Accountability Project who represents the FEMA officials put on administrative leave, said the reinstatement effort has raised doubts among those affected, after they were previously called back in November, only to be told to stay home again days later.

Bringing those staffers back is necessary but won’t fully offset the setback, said one former FEMA official who requested anonymity due to contractual restrictions. The employees sidelined after signing the declaration missed months of training, scenario planning, and coordination with state partners, the official said.

“While things may be stabilizing, FEMA is not back to full strength,” Fugate said. “And disasters won’t wait for the agency to recover.”