LAKE PLACID, Fla. (The Hill) — A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee was terminated after advising her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with President-elect Trump campaign signs on them following the onslaught of Hurricane Milton in Florida, the agency’s head confirmed.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell described the incident as “reprehensible,” noting that “more than 22,000 FEMA employees every day adhere to FEMA’s core values and are dedicated to helping people before, during and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families to help disaster survivors.”
But that “recently, one FEMA employee departed from these values to advise her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump.”
“This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation. This was reprehensible,” Criswell said in a statement.
The employee, who FEMA did not name, was terminated and the incident was referred to the Office of Special Counsel, according to Criswell.
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“I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct,” the FEMA chief said.
The development comes after The Daily Wire’s report on Friday detailed the employee telling workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” citing internal correspondence between the workers and the employee. At least 20 homes were bypassed due to her guidance, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire. The workers were canvassing in Lake Placid, Fla.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said that state officials are starting an investigation into the incident.
“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 said in Friday post 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.”
“New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired,” he added.
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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Criswell demanding answers following the report.
“I just took swift action for the American people, and I’m demanding answers from [Criswell] on why Americans were discriminated against by their government based on who they support in an election. The findings are revolting, and we need accountability,” Luna said in a post on X, adding that the FEMA chief has until Nov. 25 to respond.
