FEMA chief passes Noem’s lie detector test

Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton was given a lie detector test by DHS after a private 25 March 2025 meeting with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski was leaked to the press, Politico’s E&E News reports.

The test, administered within forty-eight hours of the meeting, cleared Hamilton, according to two former senior FEMA officials. DHS confirmed the test, stating, “We are unapologetic about our efforts to root out leakers,” in an email from Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.

The meeting followed Noem’s televised vow to “eliminate FEMA,” which blindsided agency staff. Discussions reportedly focused on dramatically scaling back FEMA’s role and transferring disaster recovery duties to individual states. The leak of the meeting details to CNN and E&E News on 26 March 2025 intensified scrutiny.

Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL with no emergency management experience, has expressed frustration internally over his limited role in decisions that could reshape—or eliminate—the agency he leads. Multiple FEMA sources told Politico he had briefed state officials just days earlier on long-term FEMA plans, unaware of Noem’s agenda.

President Trump has yet to nominate a permanent FEMA administrator. Hamilton, appointed to a lower-level role earlier this year, assumed the acting title by default under FEMA succession rules.