New FEMA whistleblower backs allegations of political discrimination against Trump supporters: Rep. Comer
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) announced on Tuesday that another whistleblower has come forward to accuse the Federal Emergency Management Agency of political discrimination.
The new development followed a House Transportation and Infrastructure hearing where Congress members grilled FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about a now-terminated hurricane relief supervisor who admitted to ordering workers to avoid homes with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump.
In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, then-supervisor Marn'i Washington gave the directive to her team while administering aid in Lake Placid, Florida. She claimed the instruction was in accordance with FEMA's "avoidance" and "de-escalation" tactics to avoid "politically hostile" homes.
"This is not isolated," Washington stated, adding that the avoidance doctrine was also deployed outside Florida.
During Tuesday's congressional hearing, Criswell rejected Washington's claims, insisting that the incident was isolated to the single rogue employee. She noted that an ongoing internal investigation had not found any evidence of a culture of political discrimination.
"I do not believe that this employee's actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA. FEMA, however, has taken appropriate action to ensure that this matter is fully investigated, and I am committed to ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again," Criswell told the committee.
"We are working with the inspector general to determine whether or not this is broader than this, but the evidence that I have seen so far shows that this was an isolated incident, and it has not gone beyond what this one employee did," she stated.
However, after the hearing, Comer revealed that a second whistleblower had stepped forward with similar accusations.
Comer shared the development in a post on X, writing, "My staff just 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."
"While there, he recommended that the family remove Trump campaign materials and signs from their house and yard, stating that his FEMA supervisors view Trump supporters as domestic terrorists," Comer continued. "The elderly homeowners were so frightened by this and afraid that they would not recover their loss that they removed the signs. Nevertheless, FEMA has not returned to their residence."
He noted that the alleged incident took place in Georgia, not Florida.
FEMA did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Post.
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Ex-FEMA supervisor indicates bypassing Trump supporters based on their perceived hostility is a widespread occurrence.
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