DHS investigation confirms FEMA left Trump supporters to fend for themselves after hurricane



Biden-era federal employees purposely ignored some Trump voters amid Hurricane Milton disaster response, according to a new Department of Homeland Security report.

The DHS’ Office of Inspector General found that at least 11 homes were passed over by disaster survivor assistance teams because they displayed pro-Trump signs. The OIG was stymied in a broader investigation of alleged anti-Trump supporter bias in other disaster responses because former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem failed to approve a contract that covered the maintenance of relevant records in a timely manner.

‘Did not visit due to Trump flag.’

Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel violated the Hatch Act when at least one Disaster Survivor Assistance team politicized disaster response, according to the OIG. The report attributes these failures to insufficient training and education.

“FEMA DSA crews did not receive ethics and Hatch Act training before deploying to disasters, DSA policies and procedures did not require crews to explain why they skipped homes, and DSA crew leaders were not required to conduct quality control reviews of survivor interactions,” the OIG report stated.

The report noted that Marn’i Washington, a DSA team leader, was charged with two Hatch Act violations in 2025 for instructing her team to avoid Trump supporters amid Hurricane Milton response. Washington engaged in political activity while on duty and used official authority to interfere with an election, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

Washington accused Trump supporters of hostility, claiming her instructions originated from legitimate safety concerns.

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CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

“Firstly, I’m being framed. There’s no violation of the Hatch Act. I was simply following orders,” Washington told NewsNation in 2024. “Safety precautions are not politically driven.”

“It just so happened that, unfortunately, most of the hostile encounters, those running trends, did have those [Trump] campaign signs,” Washington said.

No public decision has been disclosed in OSC's case against Washington.

“The first instance of a note indicating a DSA crew skipped a home due to political signage occurred on October 19, 2024. A subsequent note on October 22 stated, ‘did not visit due to Trump flag.’ Nine additional notes concerning political signage followed,’” the OIG report noted regarding Washington's crew.

Unfortunately, the OIG was unable to determine just how many crews followed Washington's anti-Trump lead. The Field Assessment and Collection Tools used to document government interactions with civilian survivors became unavailable to investigators after Noem ignored requests to provide funding.

“We could not determine if crews skipped locations for unallowable reasons during other disasters because the support contract for FEMA’s Field Assessment and Collection Tools ended in September 2025 when then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem did not act on FEMA’s request to fund it before expiration,” the report reads. “We requested access to the data in March 2025, but FEMA delays prevented us from obtaining the data prior to the contractor abruptly shutting down the system.”

"FEMA exported and retained all survivor assistance data, but only in a non-readable format that cannot be searched or analyzed unless FEMA procures a new system to restore access," a source familiar with the data told Blaze News. "DSA crews conducted their work using electronic tablets connected to this system and did not use paper notes, so there are no hard-copy records to review."

If the contract was renewed and the system remained active, the DHS investigators planned to review more natural disaster responses to see whether other DSA crews skipped homes that displayed Trump signs.

The OIG provided FEMA with several recommendations to prevent politicized disaster response in the future, including Hatch Act training and a mandatory survivor interaction documentation process for response teams. FEMA concurred with the OIG’s assessment, according to the report.

“This situation eroded public trust in FEMA’s ability to treat everyone impartially, offer unbiased and consistent assistance, and ensure equal access to resources and tools,” the report reads.

We may never know just how many Trump-supporting Americans were abandoned by the government officials responsible for helping them.

"The loss of access prevented us from assessing whether political bias in canvassing was a systemic issue during the scope period of this audit," according to the OIG.

FEMA temporarily suspended door-to-door disaster response in 2025 while it reviewed its operations.

FEMA, the DHS, and the OSC did not respond to requests for comment. Washington could not be reached for comment. Noem could not be reached through the State Department or her lawyer of record.

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'Government is in the way' of disaster recovery in North Carolina, California: HUD secretary to Glenn Beck



During a Friday morning interview with Glenn Beck, Scott Turner, the secretary of housing and urban development, blamed the government for slowing down disaster recovery in North Carolina and California.

They discussed the wildfires devastating the Palisades and Altadena areas and Hurricane Helene's impact on Asheville.

'What burdensome regulations do we need to cut so that our people can rebuild?'

Turner told Beck, "It's heartbreaking to see just what the wildfires did, and people lost their homes. Schools were lost; churches were lost."

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He explained that he spoke with community leaders to get their side of the story about the recovery process. Turner noted that "burdensome regulations" prevented the locals from rebuilding.

"They want to restore their communities, but the government is in the way. The government has to get out of the way," Turner declared.

He credited faith-based organizations and nonprofits for facilitating most of the recovery, adding that the government has blocked such efforts "with so much red tape" and "bureaucracy."

Turner and Beck discussed the Trump administration's move to stop a draft action plan in Asheville that was infused with diversity, equity, and inclusion elements.

"DEI and the federal government — according to President [Donald] Trump's executive order, DEI is over, and here at HUD, DEI is dead," Turner remarked, referring to the president's day-one executive action to remove DEI from the federal government.

Earlier this week, Turner announced that HUD would not accept the city's draft action plan, citing "DEI criteria as part of how it intends to distribute millions of dollars for Hurricane Helene disaster relief."

He called it "unacceptable" that the plan would have "prioritize[d] some impacted residents over others."

The city stated that it is in "daily communications" with HUD, agreeing to take "proactive steps to resolve any issues and meet federal standards."

"We remain committed to working with our federal partners until final submission of the plan in April," the city said.

"Hopefully their new draft action plan, we can work with," Turner told Beck.

Regarding the wildfire devastation in California, he stated that he instructed local leaders "to take inventory from a local and state perspective."

"What are you doing that is hindering the redevelopment and the rebuilding and the revitalization of the communities? Because I have heard from the people, they want to restore their families, they want to rebuild their businesses and rebuild their neighborhoods, but the government is in the way," Turner stated. "What do we need to get rid of? What burdensome regulations do we need to cut so that our people can rebuild?"

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FEMA fires 3 more supervisors tied to home-skipping scandal impacting Trump supporters



The Federal Emergency Management Agency fired three more supervisors tied to a political bias scandal involving workers who were instructed not to offer disaster relief assistance to some Florida homeowners.

Cameron Hamilton, FEMA's acting administrator, wrote in a letter dated March 4 that the agency conducted an "exhaustive investigation" after it was revealed that disaster relief workers were told to bypass the homes of those who support President Donald Trump. The directive was given to some staffers responding in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Florida.

'Political affiliation should never be a consideration in the rendering of assistance.'

Marn'i Washington, a former FEMA hurricane relief supervisor, was previously terminated after she admitted to instructing workers to skip homes with pro-Trump signs. However, she claimed she was a "scapegoat" and that the practice was "not isolated" to her instruction.

Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell rejected Washington's claims, insisting that the incident was isolated.

Hamilton explained that three additional supervisors had recently been terminated because they failed to "meet our standards of conduct," according to the letter obtained by the New York Post.

"It is essential that the entire workforce understand that this incident was reprehensible, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated at FEMA," he wrote.

"Further, in accordance with my commitment, and that of President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, to ensure that Americans receive impartial assistance from FEMA, I have directed a comprehensive additional training for FEMA staff to reinforce that political affiliation should never be a consideration in the rendering of assistance," Hamilton continued.

He noted that the investigation did not find any evidence of "a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) stated that she would not allow FEMA "to be weaponized by the left to target Trump supporters."

"We are making certain that FEMA is treating all Americans the same, that they are here to help all Americans," she said in a video posted on X. "I wrote a letter and called out these FEMA workers that were not stopping at what they perceived to be Trump-supporting homes. I'm happy to let you know they have been fired."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) expressed his confidence that the Trump administration would "root out egregious examples of political bias like this at FEMA."

"After back-to-back hurricanes devastated Florida and left many in our area with nothing, it's incomprehensible that FEMA relief workers were skipping over those in need," Buchanan said. "FEMA has the responsibility to serve every American equally, regardless of their politics."

Buchanan noted that FEMA reportedly skipped over at least 20 homes between October through November.

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Dem rep becomes first to join forces with GOP in House DOGE caucus



Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida became the first Democrat to join the bipartisan House DOGE caucus on Tuesday.

The DOGE caucus was formed after President-elect Donald Trump announced the new Department of Government Efficiency, which former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamay and tech mogul Elon Musk would be leading in the incoming administration. Although the House caucus has solely consisted of Republicans until this point, Moskowitz expressed that government efficiency "should not be a partisan issue."

'The Caucus should look at the bureaucracy that DHS has become and include recommendations to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House.'

"Today, I will join the Congressional DOGE Caucus, because I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue," Moskowitz said in a Tuesday statement. "I've been clear that there are ways we can reorganize our government to make it work better for the American people."

Moskowitz specifically pointed to the DHS and the many federal agencies under its purview, including FEMA and the Secret Service.

"Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security, while very necessary, has gotten too big," Moskowitz continued. "The Caucus should look at the bureaucracy that DHS has become and include recommendations to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House."

Both federal agencies have been under severe scrutiny over the last few months. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been critical of the Secret Service following the first assassination attempt against Trump back in July. FEMA also received backlash in November after reports revealed that agency officials directed employees to skip houses devastated by Hurricane Milton in Florida if they had visible pro-Trump displays and signs.

"It is not practical to have 22 agencies under this one department," Moskowitz continued. "I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues to remove FEMA and Secret Service from DHS."

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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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