Hamilton was fired from a temporary role leading FEMAHamilton had limited emergency management experience before Trump named him FEMA’s temporary leader in January 2025. Formerly a critic of the agency, Hamilton has said he came to appreciate FEMA’s mission. “I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told a House panel in May 2025. He is taking over as the Trump administration seeks to expand private airport screening and cut thousands of TSA jobs. Perez has been central to an ongoing diplomatic dispute between the Trump administration and the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.