Some Republican members of Congress have called for a direct investigation into the recently fired staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who advised members of the aid team to pass by houses with signs showing support for the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
On Saturday, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell confirmed that FEMA employees advised “survivor assistance teams not to go to homes with lawn signs supporting the election of Trump,” and since “terminated,” in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The confirmation comes as a FEMA staff report has circulated online in recent days.
Recently, FEMA employees abandoned that value to advise survivor assistance teams not to go to homes with lawn signs supporting the Trump-elect. This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values ​​& principles of helping people regardless of political affiliation.
– Deanne Criswell (@FEMA_Deanne) November 9, 2024
Criswell called the action “reprehensible,” and “a clear violation of FEMA’s core values ​​& principles of helping people regardless of political affiliation.”
He noted that the matter had been referred to the Office of the Special Counsel. His post does not record in relation to his Hurricane, although ABC News and The New York Times cited it in reference to Hurricane Milton in Florida, which came just a few days after Hurricane Helene.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Newsweek had reached out to the Trump campaign, FEMA and the Office of Special Counsel for comment by email on Saturday afternoon.
Several Republicans have posted on social media calling for an investigation into the situation and citing political discrimination.
Maine Senator Susan Collins wrote in X’s post, “The Inspector General must immediately conduct a full investigation, and all those responsible for playing politics with the lives and homes of vulnerable people must be held accountable.”
Yesterday, before Criswell’s post confirming the incident, Representative Matt Gaetz said the actions of FEMA staff were “unacceptable discrimination, and Congress MUST Investigate!”
Senator Mike Lee of Utah called the action “reprehensible” in X, adding that “This political discrimination by public officials tasked with helping Americans in need is disgusting.”
At the state level, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote yesterday, “At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management launched 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 am optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”
Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado wrote that “accountability must come,” calling the actions of government staff “one of the most egregious things I have ever seen.”
On Tuesday, Trump won the presidential election, with the popular vote and a majority of the Electoral College. The president-elect won his home state of Florida, which Milton swept in early October.
An Elon University poll before the presidential election found that Hurricane Helene, which devastated several states, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, killing more than 227 people, “rejected the plan about a fifth of voters North Carolina to vote this year.”
The poll of 800 North Carolina registered voters between October 10 and 17 found “clear partisan differences” in how respondents felt about the government’s response to Helene.
When asked how to describe the response of federal and state agencies to Helene in the country, 68 percent of Democrats said they did the best job, while only 24 percent of Republicans agreed. On the other hand, 57 percent of Republicans say the agency is doing a bad job, compared to 12 percent of Democrats who feel the same way. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.99 percentage points.
Trump won in North Carolina, with more than 51 percent of the state’s voters casting ballots to support him.
Before the anti-Trump staff report, the Biden-Harris administration received criticism from Republicans over concerns about FEMA’s cash flow during Hurricane Helene after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ commented on the agency’s financial problems during the hurricane season.
The agency also faced accusations and misinformation about its hurricane relief efforts and effectiveness, prompting FEMA to spread rumors and address myths on its website.
