FEMA ‘horrified’ after confirming workers directed to ‘avoid homes’ with Trump signs in hurricane-ravaged Florida community
A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisor told disaster relief workers in Florida to “avoid homes” with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump, the agency confirmed Friday.
The FEMA official — Marn’i Washington — conveyed her edict both verbally and in a Microsoft Teams chat used by relief workers canvassing Lake Placid homes ravaged by Hurricane Milton last month, according to the Daily Wire.
“Avoid homes advertising Trump,” Washington wrote in a “best practices” memo to employees.
The order was the second bullet point in a list instructing workers to not go “anywhere alone,” practice “de-escalation,” stay hydrated and to “follow the rules.”
FEMA employees told the outlet that at least 20 homes displaying Trump signs or flags — a common sight during election season — were passed between the end of October and into November because of the order.
“Trump sign no entry per leadership,” read messages left by workers in FEMA’s tracking system when homes were skipped because of the banners.
By ignoring the homes, residents were denied the opportunity to sign up for federal FEMA disaster relief assistance in the wake of the Category 3 hurricane’s landfall.
A FEMA spokesperson confirmed that orders to bypass the homes of Trump supporters were given, and said that the agency was “deeply disturbed by this employee’s actions.”
A makeshift sign sits outside a FEMA disaster relief center in Florida.
“FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation and we are deeply disturbed by this employee’s actions,” the agency spokesperson told The Post Friday night.
“While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again,” they added.
“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.
“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,” the rep said.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fumed over the incident Friday, arguing that it was emblematic of the Harris-Biden administration’s “weaponization” of government.
A Trump sign hangs from a balcony amid Milton debris in Florida.
“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,” he added.
“New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”
The FEMA supervisor’s guidance was issued after the Harris-Biden administration came under fire from Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and residents of areas affected by Hurricane Helene over the federal government’s brutally slow response to the disaster.
FEMA employees told the Daily Wire that Washington has not been punished for the guidance — and was simply shifted to a different Florida county. However, a FEMA spokesperson told The Post that Washington is “no longer working in the state of Florida or in any FEMA operations at this moment” pending the outcome of an investigation.
The Post has reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.
ADDENDUM
Marn'i Washington, 38, has been fired from her position as a supervisor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency after she told subordinates to skip Florida homes displaying Trump signs.
No comments:
Post a Comment