President-elect Donald Trump has "every right" to order an overhaul at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the controversy after a field supervisor directed workers to bypass homes with his election signs on their property, Rep. Marc Molinaro told Newsmax on Sunday.
"FEMA has been contaminated by this bureaucratic state that just doesn't seem to take seriously the responsibility of responding to all Americans," the New York Republican told Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda." "This is a cancer that has infested FEMA."
Last Sunday, Marn'i Washington, the supervisor who was fired after directing workers in Florida to skip homes, told Newsmax that she was "following orders" from above.
FEMA Director Deanne Criswell, testifying before a House committee this week, denied that the agency has such a policy and that the matter was an isolated incident.
"Clearly, FEMA is attempting to make her the scapegoat and it's just unacceptable," Molinaro told Newsmax. "When we had the administrator before our committee, it was clear she wasn't taking seriously the challenge of both unearthing and investigating this very issue. Frankly, it seems that it starts at the top."
Criswell also refused to agree that the agency prioritizes American citizens over immigrants, which Molinaro slammed as being "criminal and it's intentional."
"It needs to end," he said. "She was incapable of acknowledging that ... I spent 20 years in local government.
"I spent 12 [years] in county government and responded to dozens and dozens of national and federally declared emergencies. I have never seen the kind of the kind of disconnect and divorce from reality.
"She can't acknowledge that FEMA has not done well enough in responding to American citizens, yet is empowered by this administration and the Department of Homeland Security to continue to drive taxpayer dollars to those who are here illegally for food, shelter, and for healthcare."
But it's not a matter of lacking compassion, said Molinaro.
Instead, he said, FEMA is "buried in this politically charged administration" and is "putting a program to provide food, shelter, and housing to illegal immigrants first. It's a mistake, it's criminal, and it needs to stop."
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