A former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee says the guidance to ignore homes with President Trump's signs and banners calls for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said it was part of the problem and “completely avoidable.”
Chelsea Need, a former FEMA official who was deployed 66 times to 22 states on the front lines of natural disasters, told Fox News Digital that Marni Washington, the fired FEMA supervisor, should have refused to take orders after the discovery. said. A “clearly political line” instructing relief workers to “avoid homes promoting President Trump.”
“What really struck me about the list that Washington sent to relief workers was the inclusion of overt political lines, after seeing the common instructions to drink water, stay hydrated, and communicate. That’s the thing,” she said. “In my experience, especially from my experience working in external relations, if something like that doesn't seem normal, you have to escalate it.”
FEMA worker says to avoid houses with Trump signs: 'I'd be lying if I said I was surprised'
Photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Helen provided to Fox News Digital by the office of Congresswoman Cat Cammack. (Office of Representative Kat Cammack)
Public backlash stems from FEMA's admission to Fox News Digital that it had instructed aid workers to deny relief to residents with Trump campaign signs. at their house. The Daily Wire first reported.
The outlet reported that about 20 homes in Lake Placid, Florida, were turned over without government assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Milton and Helen.
DeAnn Criswell, FEMA's Employee Misconduct Administrator, previously told Fox News Digital that Washington's actions were “reprehensible,” and another FEMA spokesperson also told Fox that Washington's actions were “isolated.” “It was an incident,” he said.
But Washington told “Fox News @ Night” that FEMA threw her under the bus for avoiding Trump supporters, which she claimed was a policy from her bosses.
Mr. Need said he had been in Washington's shoes before and should have escalated his instructions to higher-ups and resolved the dispute “in-house.”
“The big problem with all of this is that it didn't have to get so widely out of control. It could have been resolved internally,” she said. “And I've had unethical orders like this at FEMA that escalated quickly.”
FEMA Administrator DeAnne Criswell speaks during a press conference at the White House on September 26, 2024. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
The debacle followed after FEMA made it a top priority to “instill equity as the foundation of emergency management,” the agency said. strategic planning.
Need said the goal of equality for Trump supporters in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton is “discriminatory,” adding that the top priority “does not apply” to supporters of the current president-elect.
House watchdog calls FEMA chief to testify as agency tells workers to avoid returning home with Trump signs
“Each year, all FEMA employees have to take a mandatory course on anti-discrimination and equity, so how can FEMA make it clear that they are the ones who are discriminating when they see something like this?” “How can you advertise it as a strategic plan?” she said. The goal is fairness for everyone, so why doesn't that apply? ”
“Fairness for all is for all,” she said.
Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, DC (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
With 12 years of experience in disaster relief, Need said her goal is to reach everyone affected by the storm, regardless of political beliefs.
'Insane': 'Fox & Friends Weekend' co-hosts respond to politically biased coverage of FEMA officials
“I was in Hurricane Katrina, I was in Hurricane Sandy – I know how this works, and I was a team leader just like this guy. [Washington] “At the scene, I looked at every part of it, which means I went to every door, every store,” she said. In some cases, I had to go back two or three times because some people might get lonely when they're gone. ”
Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida attends former President Donald Trump's campaign rally at the Aero Center in Wilmington, North Carolina on September 21, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told Fox News Digital that it was “unacceptable” that FEMA officials failed to assist a home in Lake Placid, Florida, with a Trump sign.
“This is unacceptable and I ask my office to apologize on behalf of the federal government. Especially regarding political discrimination and the fact that Hurricane Milton left so many people homeless, this will never be the case. Because it shouldn't be acceptable,” she said. Said.
The representative said he will begin a full-scale investigation into FEMA's allegations after hearing that this is not an isolated incident.
“We need a complete overhaul of FEMA and these people need to be held accountable, if that means criminals,” she said. “We don't know how many people are affected at this point, but what we can say based on what we've seen is that it's affecting a lot of people.”
clock:
October 10, 2024: Residents are rescued from a two-story apartment building in Clearwater, Florida after a creek floods as a result of Hurricane Milton. (Brian R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images)
Luna, whose district includes Largo, Clearwater and Palm Harbor, said he has seen firsthand how this season's devastating and deadly hurricanes have affected people.
“In my district, 13 people have died. So hearing how these people have been affected, it's very possible that there were health-related concerns when FEMA assistance was denied.” “It's expensive,” she said. “I think there's definitely some responsibility here.”
Representatives from the state of Florida said they hope the investigation will reveal names and complete communications related to the case.
“More importantly, we want to know how we can avoid situations like this in the future, which is exactly why President Trump's selection to this position is so important,” she said. Ta.
clock:
Click to get the FOX News app
Criswell is scheduled to appear at a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on November 19th at 10am.
Fox News Digital has reached out to FEMA for comment.
