Oversight Committee Highlights FEMA’s Avoidance Of Trump Supporters As Investigations Continue

The House Oversight Committee on Monday highlighted whistleblower complaints that FEMA discriminated against Trump supporters when responding to devastating hurricanes earlier this year. 

As the 118th Congress comes to a close, the Oversight Committee listed its “TOP OVERSIGHT HEARING MOMENTS” of the last two years on X, pointing to a story first broken by The Daily Wire in November that detailed that a FEMA supervisor in Florida had ordered relief workers to skip homes that showed support for Trump. The Oversight Committee noted that a whistleblower told Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) that similar misconduct had occurred in Georgia. 

“In October 2024, [The Daily Wire] exposed that a FEMA employee directed workers to bypass pro-Trump homes. During a hearing on that topic, Chairman James Comer (@RepJamesComer) revealed a brand-new whistleblower in a different state, which blew apart the FEMA Administrator’s claim that it was an isolated incident,” the committee posted on X.

In October 2024, @DailyWire exposed that a FEMA employee directed workers to bypass pro-Trump homes. During a hearing on that topic, Chairman James Comer (@RepJamesComer) revealed a brand-new whistleblower in a different state, which blew apart the FEMA Administrator’s claim that…

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) December 30, 2024

The committee was referring to an exclusive report published by The Daily Wire on November 8 that FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington ordered relief workers in Lake Placid to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” 

The guidance led to FEMA workers skipping some 20 homes impacted by Hurricane Milton. FEMA responded by firing Washington and sending workers back to the area to ensure that Lake Placid residents were given an opportunity to qualify for hurricane aid. 

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell confirmed earlier this month that there were multiple federal investigations ongoing into potential political discrimination. The investigations were being conducted by FEMA’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General. 

Last month, as Criswell was questioned about the guidance from Washington, Comer revealed that a whistleblower told his office that a FEMA supervisor told a family in Georgia to remove their Trump signs from their yards because it was not “looked kindly” on by the agency. 

“My staff made contact with a new whistleblower who provided a credible account that a FEMA contractor visited the home of an elderly disabled veteran’s family around October 10 following Hurricane Helene,” Comer said. “While there he recommended that they remove Trump campaign materials and signs from both their house and yard. He warned the family that his FEMA supervisor does not take kindly to Trump supporters and that they are seen as domestic terrorists.” 

Criswell responded to Comer’s remarks by saying that she had not heard the allegations before and asked the committee to provide her with more information on the matter. 

Whistleblowers later told the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that “entire” neighborhoods were skipped in North Carolina if workers found “Make America Great Again,” “Drain the Swamp,’ or “Don’t Tread on Me” signs in the yards of hurricane victims.