House Republicans pressed Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about bias at FEMA after a supervisor directed staff to avoid helping Florida residents with signs supporting Donald Trump.
A FEMA supervisor, Marn’i Washington, told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida, to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid after Hurricane Milton, The Daily Wire’s Leif Le Mahieu reported. The directive reportedly prevented FEMA from offering post-hurricane aid to at least 20 homes displaying Trump signs or flags in late October and November.
Criswell announced that FEMA had fired Washington and claimed Washington acted on her own initiative in giving these orders. Yet Washington claimed that her directions were not an isolated incident. Sources inside FEMA have spoken to The Daily Signal and other outlets, also saying that the direction for FEMA staff to avoid Trump supporters was not an isolated incident. (Read more: The Daily Signal, 11/19/2024) (Archive)
🚨WEAPONIZED
“Why should we believe this is an isolated incident?” Chairman @JamesComer asks.
“We are conducting an investigation and we have asked the IG to look into this further, to ensure that this is not beyond the one employee who sent this message,” Criswell says. “It is… pic.twitter.com/YY5DB03Trv
— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) November 19, 2024
🚨DEMONIZATION
“For nearly a decade, Democrats… have demonized the millions of Americans who support President Trump,” @RepJamesComer said. Trump supporters “are tired of being called trash, cult followers, fascists, Nazis, and many other horrific names for simply loving their… pic.twitter.com/Zt4Gzz2cKG
— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) November 19, 2024
🚨WATCH: @ByronDonalds presses Deanne Criswell on whether Marn’I Washington’s direction for FEMA staff to avoid houses with Trump signs was an isolated incident.
Criswell insists that it was an isolated incident, despite Washington’s statements that it wasn’t, and despite FEMA… pic.twitter.com/aqbCo6svJG
— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) November 19, 2024
🚨’HICK, COWBOY, REDNECK’:@RepGosar cites my reporting in @DailySignal, where I quote a former FEMA employee who said she heard those words when she was told, “Don’t go into any house that looks suspicious.”
Here’s the quote:
“We were told, ‘Don’t go into any house that… pic.twitter.com/TE61h7SaYn
— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) November 19, 2024
🚨CULTURE, NOT POLICY@RepCloudTX explains why FEMA’s Strategic Plan and the DEI culture it instills helps explain why a FEMA supervisor directed employees to avoid homes with Trump signs.
FEMA veterans also emphasized this issue when speaking to me about bias at the agency.… pic.twitter.com/cdSfPj8caP
— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) November 19, 2024