Three more employees with the Federal Emergency Management Agency who participated in a crew that avoided assisting victims of Hurricane Milton in Florida whose homes had signs showing support for Donald Trump have been fired.
FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton disclosed the firings in a letter Tuesday to Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The names of the employees were not disclosed.
FEMA in November fired the crew's supervisor, Marn'i Washington, who also reportedly is facing further discipline for violating Hatch Act prohibitions on electioneering.
"This action has been taken both because of their failure to meet our standards of conduct and because it is essential that the entire workforce understand that this incident was reprehensible, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated," Hamilton wrote.
He added that the investigation led 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." Washington reportedly claimed "everything we did was out of the focus of safety and making sure our team felt comfortable. I don't create policy. FEMA does. I just implement it in the field."
Hamilton wrote the investigation "did determine that those in the immediate supervisor chain of the single staff member who engaged in this conduct should have had more direct control of their subordinates' behavior."
"Thus, they have failed to meet my expectations of leaders in this organization and have been terminated," he wrote. "Further, in accordance with my commitment, and that of President [Donald] Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, to ensure that Americans receive impartial assistance from FEMA, I have directed a comprehensive additional training for FEMA staff to reinforce that political affiliation should never be a consideration in the rendering of assistance."
Comer's committee investigated the matter and held a hearing in November with then-FEMA Administrator Dianne Criswell, who testified that discrimination against Trump supporters in Florida appeared to be an isolated incident.
But Comer said during the hearing that a whistleblower accused a FEMA contractor who visited the home of an elderly disabled veteran's family in Georgia affected by Hurricane Helene recommended they remove Trump campaign materials and signs from their house and yard. The contractor warned the family that his FEMA supervisors "do not take kindly to Trump supporters and that they seem like domestic terrorists."
In a statement Friday, Comer applauded the announcement of the firings.
"Political affiliation should never be a factor in distributing taxpayer-funded disaster relief to Americans," Comer said. "I applaud FEMA for holding bad actors accountable and the Trump administration for taking measures to ensure this never happens again at the agency. Americans demand accountability in Washington, and President Trump and his administration are delivering it."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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