SANDOVAL: Amish Easily Do What Federal Government Wouldn’t Do For Months
'We wanted to help the people that had the disaster…our heart just felt drawn to come help,' says one interviewee
'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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CBS Claims Southern States Are Too Poor, Incompetent To Handle Disaster Recovery
While interviewing VP J.D. Vance, CBS's Margaret Brennan claimed southern states are too poor and incompetent to handle disaster recovery.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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Congress grills FEMA following alleged discrimination against Trump supporters
Congress grilled Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell on Tuesday afternoon regarding allegations of political discrimination and the agency's request for $40 billion in disaster relief funds.
During a House Transportation and Infrastructure hearing, Criswell was questioned about a now-terminated hurricane relief supervisor, Marn'i Washington, who admitted to instructing workers to avoid homes with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump during the relief efforts following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
'This is pretty hard to defend.'
FEMA has repeatedly insisted that the situation was isolated, but Washington has argued that she is being used as a "scapegoat," claiming that the instruction to skip certain homes was not an isolated incident.
During Tuesday's hearing, Criswell told Congress, "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."
According to Criswell, the agency's "ongoing investigation," which includes questioning personnel in the chain of command above Washington, has yielded "no information at this point that there was anything beyond her [Washington's] direction to her employees to skip and bypass a home."
Criswell agreed to request an outside investigation from FEMA's Office of Inspector General.
FEMA is requesting that Congress provide $40 billion for disaster relief to last through the upcoming year. Amid the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the agency has highlighted its depleted resources for emergency responses.
Several Republican Congress members pressed Criswell about the agency's request for additional funding while its Shelter and Services Program continues to provide extensive free services to illegal aliens.
In response, the FEMA administrator redirected the criticism back at Congress, pointing out that the legislative body had created the program and mandated the agency oversee it.
Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-N.Y.) challenged Criswell's defense, calling it the "easiest and most disingenuous argument."
"You administer the one department in domestic policy that has to triage and to set priorities — your department," Molinaro stated. "You are empowered and your department is empowered to decide what of the programs you're running today should take precedence or priority over the others. Yes, sure. We can pass a law that limits the Shelter and Services funding, that stops dollars getting to illegal immigrants, but you have to make that decision every day."
Rep. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) questioned Criswell about 20 Hurricane Katrina infrastructure projects funded and never completed by FEMA.
"How, 20 years later, are there still unresolved projects from Katrina?" Ezell asked. "This is pretty hard to defend."
Ezell called FEMA's failure to complete the projects "simply outrageous."
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