Three Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisors involved with the scandal in which aid workers were advised to bypass homes with Trump signs in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton have been fired.
That makes four in total, given their walking papers over the incident.
The news appears to contradict former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who told members of the House Oversight Committee that the shocking directive involved a lone employee.
The New York Post reports that Cameron Hamilton, the agency’s current acting administrator, sent a letter to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) advising her of the results of an “exhaustive investigation” into the matter.
“[I]t is essential that the entire workforce understand that this incident was reprehensible, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated at FEMA,” Hamilton wrote, according to the Post.
He is also developing further training for FEMA employees that seeks “to reinforce that political affiliation should never be a consideration in the rendering of assistance.”
FEMA fired three supervisors following probe into crew told to avoid Trump-supporting homes hit by Hurricane Milton https://t.co/O4CbaexqRX pic.twitter.com/iUnfW5EEC9
— New York Post (@nypost) March 6, 2025
News that workers had been advised to skip past the homes of those supporting President Trump in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton came as a shock.
Whistleblowers cracked open a story regarding a supervisor directing employees in Lake Placid, Florida to avoid any damaged homes with Trump signs outside when they were canvassing the area following the devastating storm.
Marn’i Washington, also a supervisor with the agency at the time, was fired over the incident, as messages between her and the workers left an obvious trail for what they were doing.
“Best practices” documents, which stated “avoid homes advertising Trump” and employee messages confirming “Trump sign no entry per leadership,” were hard to argue.
Not only was there evidence of the directive to prolong the suffering of Republican voters, but there was documentation of them actually following the orders.
FEMA crew leader Marn’i Washington ordered relief workers under her guidance to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as “best practice” policy as they surveyed homes in Lake Placid after Hurricane Milton tore through the small community. pic.twitter.com/IEmYrdIekM
— Leif Le Mahieu (@leif_lemahieu) November 8, 2024
OUTRAGE: FEMA Workers Working Hurricane Milton Aftermath Ordered to Bypass Houses With Trump Signs
FEMA Administrator Fires Official Who Prevented Assistance to Trump Supporters; That Is Not Enough
Washington, though, refused to go quietly and very publicly claimed the politicization of disaster aid was a more widespread issue than anybody at FEMA was willing to admit.
She quickly appeared on “Roland Martin Unfiltered” on the Black Star Network and started making accusations. She even said aid workers avoiding pro-Trump homes had occurred in North Carolina, which Hurricane Helene had ravaged.
“Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know,” Washington claimed. “But if you ask the [Disaster Survivor Assistance] crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field, they will tell you.”
The FEMA official who was just fired for telling workers to avoid homes impacted by the hurricanes in Florida if they had Trump signs says that it was not “isolated” and that FEMA workers were instructed to do it in the Carolinas too. pic.twitter.com/BpBdZFSSPR
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 12, 2024
Criswell denied the allegations, telling lawmakers, “It has not gone beyond what this one employee did.”
Well, four now, actually.
Chair of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer (R-KY), would later talk to a whistleblower who alleged a FEMA contractor had suggested disaster victims with signs supporting Trump outside their homes were viewed by officials as “domestic terrorists.”
As a result, “elderly homeowners were so frightened … and afraid that they would not recover their loss that they removed the signs,” Comer said.
Travesty: Elderly Vet Told to Remove Trump Signs or FEMA Officials Would View Him As ‘Domestic Terrorist’https://t.co/r39ONbkdJZ
— RedState (@RedState) November 20, 2024
Despite all of this, Hamilton assured Blackburn in his letter that playing politics with people’s lives is not a widespread issue at FEMA.
While four separate supervisors failed to “meet our standards of conduct” when it came to providing aid regardless of political beliefs, Hamilton writes that the investigation “found no evidence this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership.”
While the firing of any individual involved in withholding aid is an absolute necessity, it still falls short of expectations. As RedState’s Streiff reported, these supervisors were engaged in criminal acts.
“Depriving citizens of federal assistance because they supported a major party candidate is a violation of multiple federal laws,” he wrote.
Blackburn told the Post she is “pleased” that the three additional supervisors were fired.
“This unjustifiable behavior should never be allowed to fester or run rampant in any organization — let alone a federal agency that is designed to serve the needs of the American people,” she said.
