The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) fired three more supervisors after an internal investigation triggered an internal investigation after a crew of disaster relief workers were instructed to “avoid homes promoting Trump” in hurricane-covered Florida.
R-Fla's Rep. Vern Buchanan exclusively told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration is “confident” and “confident” of such a terrible example of political bias in FEMA.
“I don't understand that FEMA relief workers were skipping people in need after a back-to-back hurricane devastated Florida and left nothing in our area,” he said. “FEMA has a responsibility to serve all Americans equally, regardless of politics.”
FEMA officials told them to avoid homes with Trump signs: “It's a lie to say I was surprised.”
The aftermath of Hurricane Helen in Florida. (Office of Congressman Cat Cammack)
R-Ala. Sen. Katie Britt, of the Republican lawmakers, praised the agency for the purpose of providing “equal support.”
“We also appreciate FEMA taking the necessary action to fire these individuals who are involved in bypassing housing and conditioning aids and who are involved in providing additional training to agency employees,” she told Fox News Digital.
According to Buchanan, citing FEMA sources, homes with at least 20 Trump campaign signs or flags were decouped by relief workers from late October until November 2024.
The additional staff fire was co-signed by 54 other elected officials demanding transparency after Buchanan sent an investigation to FEMA and then it was revealed that disaster relief agency management had directed workers to hand over Trump supporters.
President Joe Biden speaks with Deanne Criswell at Greenville Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina on October 2, 2024, at Greenville Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Cameron Hamilton, the agency's current representative manager, announced in a letter Tuesday that the “intensive investigation” concluded that the supervisor failed to “meet our standards of conduct” or did not suppress partisan actions.
Hamilton said their investigations did not reveal that this was “a systematic issue and directed by agency and field leadership.”
“It is essential that the entire workforce understands that the incident is being blamed, and this type of action is not tolerated by FEMA,” Hamilton wrote.
Hamilton's comment that the directive was not a “systematic” issue for relief organizations directly contradicts what fired FEMA supervisor Marn'i Washington told “Fox News @night.”
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Washington said the agency threw her under the bus, claiming she simply conveyed a policy that came from her higher.
“Why is this coming down to me? I'm the one who wrote down from my notes and my notation. [Microsoft] Team chat was published by the Search Ability Team,” Washington said.
In response to Fox News host Trace Gallagher asking, “Do you tell me these orders came from someone above?” she said “right.”
A former FEMA employee claimed that the Florida team had already shunned Trump's voter's home before work there.
“It was a culture. They had already shunned these homes based on community trends from hostile political encounters. It had nothing to do with the signs of the campaign. It happened to be part of the community trends,” Washington explained.
Read Hamilton's response: Mobile users click here
The investigation began after FEMA checked with Fox News Digital in November, and then employees investigated how aid workers had instructed residents who had Trump's campaign signs at home to refuse relief. Daily Wire reported first.
Shortly after the news broke, FEMA announced the end of Washington.
“FEMA supports all survivors, regardless of political preference or affiliation,” a FEMA spokesman told Fox News Digital in November. “The employees who issued this guidance have no authority, and are not given instructions to tell their teams to avoid these homes, reaching out to people who may not have reached the results of this incident.”
The spokesman added that the agency is supporting more than 365,000 households affected by Hurricane Helen and Milton. In Florida It provided “nearly $900 million with direct support to survivors.”
Town of Chimney Rock, North Carolina, October 2, 2024, after flash floods in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Hamilton said he instructed staff to further training to “strengthen that political affiliation is never considered in rendering support.”
House Committee on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, James Kommer, R-KY. praised FEMA for “holding bad actors accountable.”
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“Political affiliation should not be a factor in distributing taxpayer-funded disaster relief to Americans,” he said at his release. “Americans demand accountability from Washington and President Trump, and his administration is offering it.”
Fox News Digital has contacted FEMA for comments.
