An investigation has cleared the Federal Emergency Management Agency of any wrongdoing stemming from accusations that employees of the agency were instructed to deliberately avoid assisting homes of then Trump supporters in hurricane ravaged Florida, Politico reported on Tuesday.
The investigation found "no evidence" the agency's upper management had told field workers to purposely avoid homes with Trump yard signs thereby denying them federal disaster relief benefits, following the devastation caused by back-to-back Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024.
In November it was reported that Marn'i Washington, a FEMA official, gave a directive both verbally and via a Microsoft Teams chat used by relief workers to pass over homes with signage supporting then candidate Donald Trump. FEMA employees told the Daily Wire that a minimum of 20 homes displaying Trump signs were passed over.
The order regarding Trump supporters was given second priority in a list of instructions advising workers to not "go anywhere alone," to practice de-escalation, to stay hydrated, and to "follow the rules." A FEMA spokesperson confirmed that orders to bypass the homes of Trump supporters were given and said that the agency was "deeply disturbed by this employee's actions." Washington was fired by the agency in November.
The GOP then opened its own investigation into alleged systemic bias by the agency against conservatives lead by Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., chair of the Committee on Homeland Security. Yet, this week the investigation by FEMA's Office of Professional Responsibility "found no evidence that this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership."
In February, the federal office of Special Council filed an additional complaint against Washington saying that she had "repeatedly told her subordinate crew members not to visit properties with Trump 2024 campaign signage."
In March, FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton informed House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer that he had dismissed three additional employees who had participated in avoiding homes of assumed Trump supporters.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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