Agency Administrator Condemns “Reprehensible” Direction to Skip Trump-Supporting Households
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has terminated an employee who instructed disaster relief workers to bypass homes displaying Trump support signs during Hurricane Milton recovery efforts in Florida, prompting both federal and state investigations into the incident.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced the termination Saturday, taking a strong stance against what she termed “reprehensible” conduct.
“More than 22,000 FEMA employees every day adhere to FEMA’s core values and are dedicated to helping people before, during and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families to help disaster survivors,” Criswell stated on X. “This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”
Congressional oversight
The incident has drawn immediate attention from Congress. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has requested Administrator Criswell’s testimony at a November 19 hearing to address both this incident and FEMA’s broader response to recent natural disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“In the wake of the recent major disasters that impacted Americans of all political persuasions, it is critical that FEMA adheres to its disaster relief mission,” Comer wrote in his Saturday letter to Criswell.
Details of the incident
The controversy emerged from internal correspondence, first reported by The Daily Wire, showing the employee directed canvassing teams in Lake Placid, Florida, to “avoid homes advertising Trump” during their October 27 relief efforts. FEMA officials maintain this was an isolated incident and the employee acted without authority.
“The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes,” a FEMA spokesperson emphasized.
Remedial actions
FEMA has launched several immediate corrective measures:
- Deployment of a new canvassing team to the affected area
- Investigation into the number of potentially skipped households
- Review of internal protocols at “all levels”
“We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation,” the FEMA spokesperson stated, noting that the investigation is ongoing.
State-level response
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has directed the state’s Division of Emergency Management to conduct its own investigation into what he called “targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.”
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis posted on X.
Agency reaffirms mission
FEMA has strongly reiterated its commitment to non-partisan disaster relief. “FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation,” the agency spokesperson emphasized, underscoring the organization’s core mission of assisting all Americans in times of crisis.
The incident has highlighted the critical importance of maintaining political neutrality in federal emergency response efforts, particularly in an era of heightened political polarization.