A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, identified as Marn’i D Washington, has been removed from her position following allegations that she instructed disaster relief teams to bypass homes displaying support for President-elect Donald Trump in the aftermath of recent hurricanes in Florida.
“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,” Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, wrote on X Sunday.
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“Recently, a 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 & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation,” she said.
“This was reprehensible. 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,” she added.
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“We take our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters seriously. This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again,” Criswell concluded.
FEMA emphasized that they believe this was an isolated incident but have launched an internal investigation to ensure it does not happen again.
“We have taken immediate action to remove the employee from their role and are reaching out to any affected residents who may have been inadvertently skipped during relief efforts,” the agency noted.
The internal messages about the controversial directive were first reported by The Daily Wire, sparking backlash and concerns over potential political bias in disaster response.
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Florida residents have faced severe hardships during this hurricane season, and the alleged instruction to bypass certain homes only added to their frustrations.
FEMA reiterated its commitment to impartial disaster relief and promised to address any lapses in service caused by the incident.
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