The Senate has officially confirmed Cameron Hamilton as the permanent FEMA Administrator by a 51-47 vote.  Administrator Hamilton, sworn in on August 10, becomes FEMA’s first permanent leader since Deanne Criswell resigned in January 2025.   Administrator Hamilton stated that, “The American people deserve a FEMA that is not bogged down with bureaucracy, but one that is focused on preparing and supporting state, local, tribal and territorial governments to get the help that is needed to their communities.”

Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on “FEMA Workforce: Staff Reductions and Lack of Planning May Impact Mission Readiness.”  This report follows GAO’s addition of “Delivery of Federal Disaster Assistance” to its High-Risk List.  GAO found that over 4,300 employees separated from FEMA in fiscal year 2025, reflecting about 17% of the total workforce and a 55% increase in separations from the year before.  FEMA generally has 100 Senior Executive Service employees; however, according to FEMA officials, 58 Senior Executive Service employees separated from the agency in 2025. The GAO stated that, since FEMA rescinded its Strategic Plan in 2025, “FEMA cannot effectively determine its future workforce needs, potentially putting its mission at risk.”  GAO made recommendations for FEMA, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed with, including that FEMA issue a new strategic plan and develop a workforce planning process that assesses its workforce and mission needs.  GAO recommended that Congress require FEMA to provide a report on its workforce planning process annually before hurricane season and that Congress require FEMA to make workforce decisions based on the agency’s workforce planning process.