WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has fired three more supervisors following an internal probe into claims a crew of disaster relief workers were told to avoid Trump-supporting homes hit by Hurricane Milton in Florida, The Post can exclusively reveal.
Cameron Hamilton, the current acting administrator of the agency, announced in a Tuesday letter to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) that an “exhaustive investigation” had concluded the supervisors failed to “meet our standards of conduct” or reign in their partisan underlings’ behavior.
“[I]t is essential that the entire workforce understand that this incident was reprehensible, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated at FEMA,” Hamilton 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.”
Blackburn had demanded answers about the snub from now-departed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell in a letter last November, expressing her “disgust with the blatant display of bias.”
“I’m pleased to see that FEMA has terminated four individuals as a result of the agency’s disgusting discrimination against Trump supporters in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year,” she told The Post on Thursday.
“This unjustifiable behavior should never be allowed to fester or run rampant in any organization — let alone a federal agency that is designed to serve the needs of the American people.”
Hamilton added that the investigation also “found no evidence this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership” — directly contradicting claims by ex-FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington.
In October, Washington instructed her crew canvassing hurricane-ravaged areas of Lake Placid, Fla., to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” according to a “best practices” memo first reported by the Daily Wire.
The agency fired Washington the following month, with Criswell calling her directive “a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”
The following month, Washington broke her silence in a November interview with YouTube podcaster Roland Martin, accusing FEMA team leaders of ordering workers to ignore supporters of the 47th president’s campaign “not just in the state of Florida” but “in the Carolinas.”
“Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know, but if you ask the [Disaster Survivor Assistance] crew leads and specialists what they’re experiencing in the field, they will tell you,” she said.
At the time, one FEMA employee confirmed to The Post that crews working in Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene were given “clear guidance” to be “mindful” of affected regions that are “largely Republican” or “very conservative.”
The worker indicated that the agency’s focus on “equity” had motivated that guidance as it sought to distribute more than $1.2 billion in direct disaster assistance to residents ravaged by the storm.
House committees subsequently launched probes into potential “systemic bias” in the provision of disaster relief to Trump-supporting victims of Hurricanes Milton and Helene across the Southeast.
The independent US Office of Special Counsel and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General also investigated the incident, as did several state attorneys general.
Amid those probes, Criswell testified to House lawmakers in November, after Trump’s election victory, that no evidence had emerged showing Washington’s actions were a widespread issue.
“It has not gone beyond what this one employee did,” she told members of the House Oversight Committee, adding that there was no agency-wide guidance to ignore so-called “politically hostile” homes.
The Office of Special Counsel “confirmed” that assessment — and slapped Washington with a Hatch Act complaint last month.
By “[e]ngaging in political activity while on duty and using her official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the results of an election,” the special counsel’s office said, Washington had violated the 1939 law, opening her up to possible civil penalties and debarment from future federal employment.
The Merit Systems Protection Board, a federal-worker appeals panel, is now considering her case.
