Summary4 min read

The Daily Scoop Podcast

Episode: Trump’s FEMA Nominee is Planning an IT Overhaul
Date: June 18, 2026
Host: Billy Mitchell

Episode Overview

This episode examines two major stories in federal technology and management: the proposed IT overhaul at FEMA by Trump’s nominee Cameron Hamilton and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) evolving approach to artificial intelligence (AI). The discussions spotlight leadership changes, organizational challenges, and technology modernization at FEMA, as well as thoughtful cautions and best practices in government AI usage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. FEMA in Flux: Leadership and IT Overhaul

[00:01 – 03:30]

Leadership Instability:
- Cameron Hamilton, President Trump’s nominee for FEMA Administrator, testified before the Senate about the need for a significant IT overhaul.
- Hamilton has previously served as acting FEMA administrator (Jan–May 2025) during a period of high turnover—FEMA has had four acting administrators lately.
- The workforce has shrunk dramatically since 2025, with a net loss of 4,000 employees, most of them leaving just in early 2026.
Operational Turmoil and Restructuring:
- The turbulence stems partly from the “historically long DHS shutdown” earlier in 2026 that forced the agency into minimal operations.
- The Trump administration is shifting more disaster response responsibility to state and local governments, a move drawing concern and criticism from Democrats.
IT Department Upheaval:
- FEMA’s IT leadership has undergone major changes: 24 IT staff, including CIO Charles Armstrong and CISO Gregory Edwards, were publicly fired in 2025 for neglecting “basic security protocols.”
- The department lacked a CIO until Zeke Maldonado became acting CIO in February 2026. Maldonado comes with experience as executive director for IT operations at DHS headquarters and was previously CIO for DHS’s intelligence office (from August 2024).
Notable Quote:
- “Some of the tools and technology that FEMA uses are a bit antiquated, and if he’s confirmed he’s planning to do a significant IT overhaul of the entire agency for better accountability.” – Billy Mitchell, summarizing Hamilton’s testimony [00:40]

2. EPA’s Deliberate Approach to Artificial Intelligence

[03:30 – 06:10]

AI Pilots and Expert Oversight:
- EPA is conducting AI pilots to automate public comment reviews and analyze scientific datasets.
- CIO Carter Farmer insists on limiting AI use at higher levels to subject matter experts, warning against non-expert usage due to the risk of convincing but inaccurate outputs.
Notable Quotes:
- “If you’re not an expert in the subject matter you’re using AI for, you probably shouldn’t be using AI because it can be convincingly wrong. If you’re not an expert at that, validating those outputs is very hard.”
  — Carter Farmer, EPA CIO [04:10]
- “Prompt engineering is a real skill and proper use is rarely plug and play… learning how AI works and how the back end actually works is very helpful.”
  — Carter Farmer, EPA CIO [04:45]
Current and Future Uses:
- Everyday AI tasks at EPA remain low-risk: email drafting, creating presentations, etc.
- As AI tools become more available and internal guardrails loosen, EPA sees daily AI usage increasing.
- The agency is carefully balancing employee enablement and security:
  “If you don’t give people the tools they need, you risk them going outside the bounds of what is available… We have very strict guardrails around their AI tools internally.”
  — Carter Farmer, EPA CIO [05:25]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

On FEMA’s Modernization:
“Some of the tools and technology that FEMA uses are a bit antiquated… planning to do a significant IT overhaul… for better accountability.”
— Billy Mitchell, summarizing Cameron Hamilton [00:40]
On AI Usage and Expertise:
“If you’re not an expert in the subject matter you’re using AI for, you probably shouldn’t be using AI because it can be convincingly wrong.”
— Carter Farmer, EPA CIO [04:10]
On Guardrails and Shadow IT:
“If you don’t give people the tools they need, you risk them going outside the bounds of what is available… We have very strict guardrails around their AI tools internally.”
— Carter Farmer, EPA CIO [05:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:01 – 03:30: FEMA’s leadership turmoil and planned IT overhaul
03:30 – 06:10: EPA’s cautious, expertise-driven approach to AI adoption

Takeaways

FEMA faces significant instability, both in leadership and workforce, and is preparing for a comprehensive modernization of its IT systems under new leadership.
The EPA embraces AI but maintains a careful, expertise-first philosophy, underscoring prompt engineering as a specialized skill and enforcing strong internal safeguards on AI tools.

For more federal government technology coverage, visit fedscoop.com.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:02]
A
Today on the Daily Scoop podcast from the Scoop News Group, Trump's FEMA nominee is planning an IT overhaul and inside EPA's AI strategy to pilot everything it's Thursday, June 18, 2026. Welcome to the Daily Scoop Podcast, where you'll hear the latest news and trends facing government leaders. I'm the host of the Daily Scoop Podcast, Billy Mitchell. Thanks so much for joining me. And now let's dive into the day's top headlines. The Federal Emergency Management Agency might undergo a major change to its IT operations if President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security unit is confirmed. Cameron Hamilton, Trump's pick to lead fema, told Senate lawmakers during a Wednesday hearing. Some of the tools and technology that FEMA uses are are a bit antiquated, and if he's confirmed he's planning to do a significant IT overhaul of the entire agency for better accountability. Hamilton would be the first permanent leader of FEMA in Trump's second term. The agency has gone through four different acting administrators, including Hamilton, whose stint lasted from January to May of 2025. The instability at its helm is representative of the turmoil throughout fema, which which has seen its net workforce contract by nearly 4,000 employees since 2025. More than half of those departures occurred in the first four months of 2026, according to OPM's federal workforce data website's latest update in April. FEMA was especially impacted by the historically long DHS shutdown earlier this year, with its operations scaled back to the bare minimum. The Trump administration has also made moves to alter FEMA's disaster response responsibilities and shift more of the burden and local levels, garnering criticism from Democrats who have concerns about the changes. FEMA's IT department has not been immune to the waves of change last year since ousted DHS Secretary Kristi Noem publicly announced the firing of 24 FEMA IT employees, including CIO Charles Armstrong and CISO Gregory Edwards. A DHS press release said FEMA's IT department brazenly neglected basic security protocols. The agency was without a top technology leader until February, when Zeke Maldonado was named Acting CIO. Maldonado was previously at DHS's headquarters level as executive director for IT operations. Prior to that, he spent a year as CIO for DHS's intelligence office starting in August 2024. And now moving on to other news, the Environmental Protection Agency has run artificial intelligence pilots on everything. When its chief information officer only wants subject matter experts to be using the technology at the highest level, CIO Carter Farmer said last week that while the agency has piloted AI to review public comments and analyze large scientific data sets, he still wants experts to review the outputs, Farmer explained, Quote, something we tell our staff quite regularly is if you're not an expert in the subject matter you're using AI for, you probably shouldn't be using AI because it can be convincingly wrong. If you're not an expert at that, validating those outputs is very hard, unquote Another reason why using AI can require more experience, he said. Quote prompt engineering is a real skill and proper use is rarely plug and play. He added that having to learn how AI works and how the back end of it actually works is very helpful in how to think about how you should be using this tool. But the agency's daily use of AI is less high stakes, Farmer said. The EPA's biggest focus currently is using AI for low level or low risk functions like email drafting and creating presentations. The agency has seen a huge jump in daily AI usage because of fewer guardrails than before when the technology was first starting out, he said. Quote if you don't give people the tools they need, you risk them going outside the bounds of what is available. We don't want people to go use some public tool. We have very strict guardrails around their AI tools internally. So we want people to have the tools they need to do their jobs, but also put some guardrails around what's safe to use and what's not safe to use. For more news at the intersection of the federal government and technology, make sure to visit fedscoop.com. Thanks so much for tuning in to another episode of the Daily Scoop Podcast, available on all podcast platforms. If you've already rated the podcast on your platform of choice, thanks so much. High ratings and good reviews of the show help more people to find it. The Daily Scoop Podcast is a production of the Scoop News Group in Washington, D.C. carlin Fisher helped put the show together and the entire Scoop News Group team contributes. We'll be back next week with more top headlines. Until then, I'm your host Billy Mitchell. Thanks so much for listening.