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FEMA official fired for directing hurricane relief away from Trump supporters' homes

By Michael Dorgan and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten
Published  November 9, 2024 2:07pm EST
Highlands County
FOX News

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    LAKE PLACID, Fla. - A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official who instructed Hurricane Milton relief workers to skip homes with Trump signs has been removed from her role, a FEMA spokesperson tells Fox News, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is investigating the federal agency over the controversy. 

    The FEMA official, who has not been named by the agency, instructed workers canvassing Lake Placid in Florida to "avoid homes advertising Trump," as they ascertained what residents could qualify for federal aid, according to internal messages first obtained by the Daily Wire. 

    The Daily Wire reports that government employees told the outlet that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were bypassed from the end of October and into November due to the "best practices" guidance from the official. The houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote messages such as: "Trump sign no entry per leadership," in a government system, per the outlet.

    On Saturday, FEMA's administrator on employee misconduct, Deanne Criswell, confirmed to Fox News Digital that the employee had been fired, calling her actions "reprehensible" and a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.

    "We take our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters seriously. This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel," Criswell said. "I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again."

    A FEMA spokesperson tells Fox News that it is "deeply disturbed" by the employee’s actions and says it is an "isolated incident." 

    "FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation," the spokesperson said via a statement. 

    READ: Election latest: Biden, Trump will meet in Oval Office next week

    "The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes, and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident," the spokesperson said, adding that the agency has helped more than 365,000 households impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and provided nearly $900 million in direct assistance to survivors."

    "We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels.

    WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 09: Signage for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is seen outside of the agencys headquarters in Washington, DC on October 9, 2024. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 09: Signage for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is seen outside of the agencys headquarters in Washington, DC on October 9, 2024. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    The FEMA agents were ordered not to help houses with Trump signs in Highlands County, a deep-red area located in south central Florida that was hit with tornadoes, torrential rain and flooding when the Category 3 Hurricane slammed into The Sunshine State in October. President-elect Trump won nearly 70% of the vote there on Tuesday. 

    DeSantis slammed the federal agency Friday after learning about the official’s actions and announced his administration will investigate FEMA over the incident. 

    READ: Judge cancels court deadlines in Trump's 2020 election case

    "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 wrote on X.

    "At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government's targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump. New leadership is on the way to D.C., and I'm optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired."

    U.S. House Oversight Committee and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., also took aim at the agency, in particular for not firing the official.

    He said it comes despite the IRS trying to force whistleblower Gary Shapley out of that agency. Shapley, an IRS supervisory special agent, brought claims of political influence in the Hunter Biden investigation to Congress, along with Joseph Ziegler, IRS criminal investigator.

    READ: Who is Susie Wiles, Trump's new White House chief of staff?

    "FEMA hasn’t fired this person… But the IRS has been trying to force IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley out for blowing the whistle! We must hold these unelected bureaucrats accountable," Comer wrote on X.

    "FEMA admits this happened but doesn’t say if the bureaucrat responsible has been fired," the House Oversight Committee wrote on X. "Democrats relentlessly defend the rules that insulate unelected bureaucrats from accountability and make it nearly impossible to fire bad employees. This is why we need President Trump’s reforms to make bureaucrats accountable."

    Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's son, also blasted the agency. 

    "This is outrageous even for the democrats in charge and should be criminal," Trump Jr wrote on X. "These people should be ousted from FEMA, Government and society! A full investigation is in order!"

    Fox News’ Madison Scarpino contributed to this report.

    Read more at FOXnews.com.

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