Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials told Hurricane Milton relief workers to skip homes with President Trump signs as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis investigates the federal government over the controversy. He has been removed from that position, a FEMA spokesperson told Fox News.
A FEMA official, who officials have not named, told a campaign worker in Lake Placid, Florida, which residents could be eligible for federal aid, according to an internal message first obtained by the Daily Wire. In order to find out if the situation was true, he told them to “avoid homes promoting President Trump.”
The Daily Wire reported that at least 20 homes with Trump signs and flags were removed by the end of October following “best practices” guidance from officials, government officials told the outlet. It is said that the route was bypassed between November and November. According to the newspaper, the workers ran from house to house writing messages such as “President Trump must sign the ban on leadership'' on government systems.
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Photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Helen provided to Fox News Digital by the office of Congresswoman Cat Cammack. (Office of Representative Kat Cammack)
A FEMA spokesperson told Fox News that the agency was “very disturbed” by the actions of its employees and called it an “isolated incident.”
“FEMA supports all survivors, regardless of political preference or affiliation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken steps to remove the employee from his role and are conducting an investigation to ensure this does not happen again.”
It is unclear whether the employee was permanently fired from the agency.
“The employee who provided this guidance was not authorized to do so and was not given instructions to direct the team to avoid these homes. We are in contact,” the spokesperson added. The agency assisted more than 365,000 families affected by Hurricanes Helen and Milton in Florida, providing nearly $900 million in direct assistance to survivors. ”
“We are horrified that this has happened and have taken extreme action to rectify this situation and ensure this issue is addressed at all levels.
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FEMA officials stand at President Trump's sign in Highlands County, a deep red area in south-central Florida that was hit by tornadoes, torrential rains and flooding when a Category 3 hurricane hit the Sunshine State in October. They were ordered not to help houses with signs posted. President-elect Trump received nearly 70% of the vote there on Tuesday.
After learning of the officials' actions, DeSantis on Friday blamed federal authorities and announced that his administration would investigate FEMA over the incident.
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is another reason the Biden-Harris administration is coming to an end,” DeSantis wrote in X.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis holds a storm preparedness press conference ahead of Hurricane Milton hitting the state. (Florida Governor's Office)
“At my direction, the Office of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government's targeted discrimination against Floridians who support Donald Trump. New leadership is on its way to Washington, D.C., and at my direction. is optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.
The House Oversight Committee and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) also specifically criticized the agency for not firing the officials.
He said this comes despite the IRS' efforts to remove whistleblower Gary Shapley from the agency. Mr. Shapley, an IRS supervisory special agent, along with Joseph Ziegler, an IRS criminal investigator, submitted to Congress allegations of political influence in the Hunter Biden investigation.
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Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters in Washington, DC on October 8, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“FEMA did not fire this person…but the IRS is trying to forcefully remove IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley as a whistleblower! We will hold these unelected officials accountable. must be,” Comer wrote to X.
The House Oversight Committee wrote about Mr. “Democrats are relentlessly defending rules that exempt unelected officials from accountability and make it nearly impossible to fire bad employees. That's why we need President Trump's reforms to hold bureaucrats accountable.” It is.”
The president-elect's son, Donald Trump Jr., also criticized the agency.
“This is outrageous even for the Democrats in charge and should be a crime,” Trump Jr. said. “These people should be kicked out of FEMA, out of government, out of society! There needs to be a thorough investigation!” I wrote to X.
FOX News' Madison Scarpino contributed to this report.
