EXCLUSIVE: Blackburn Says FEMA Trump Guidance Confirms ‘Worst Fears’ About Government

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) urged FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Monday to fire any federal employee who had knowledge of guidance directing them to skip the homes of Trump supporters in Florida, according to a letter first shared with The Daily Wire. 

Blackburn wrote to Criswell on Monday, urging her to comply with the investigations that have been launched into the agency after The Daily Wire reported that fired FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington ordered relief workers in Lake Placid to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” Whistleblowers said that at least 20 homes were skipped due to the guidance because they had a Trump flag or yard sign. 

“I write to express my disgust with the blatant display of bias described in recent reporting by the Daily Wire — confirmed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—indicating that a FEMA supervisor ordered relief workers to avoid approaching the homes of Trump supporters during Hurricane Milton relief efforts in Florida,” Blackburn wrote. “The American people are already highly mistrustful of the federal government, and these actions only confirm their worst fears.”

Criswell announced on November 9 that Washington had been fired, saying that she believed the guidance to be an “isolated” situation. Since then, Washington has come forward and said that FEMA has a widespread policy of avoiding homes due to “political hostility.” 

“This revelation is appalling and is a direct contradiction of FEMA’s core values and mission. FEMA’s most valuable asset is its reputation — which these recent examples of bias have critically harmed,” Blackburn wrote. “This also raises questions about potential discrimination in other parts of the country affected by recent hurricanes, including Tennessee.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced last week that they would be investigating if anyone in the Volunteer State, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, had been discriminated against by FEMA. Blackburn said she fully backed the state’s investigation and asked Criswell to comply. 

Blackburn said that any employee “who had knowledge of or has participated in” Washington’s guidance, or any other similar instructions, should be fired. 

There are still questions about when federal officials learned about the guidance. A whistleblower complaint was first filed with the Department of Homeland Security on October 27 yet no disciplinary action appears to have been taken until November 8 when The Daily Wire published its report on the guidance.