Nov. 9 (UPI) — A Federal Emergency Management Agency official who advised disaster relief workers to avoid knocking on doors of Florida homes with Trump campaign signs has been fired, FEMA’s chief said Saturday.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the actions of the employee “reprehensible” and wrote in a social media post their employment had been “terminated.”
“We take our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters seriously,” she wrote. “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.”
The action came a day after The Daily Wire reported on the incident, citing internal messages among FEMA disaster aid workers who were working to canvass the Lake Placid, Fla., area in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton to identify residents who could qualify for public assistance.
The website cited a message sent by the supervisor to workers listing “best practices” for the canvass, which included, “avoid homes advertising Trump.” The publication quoted anonymous government employees who alleged at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped in recent weeks due to the guidance, meaning they would be passed over for public disaster assistance.
The story prompted an angry response from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” he wrote in a post on X.
“At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.”
Criswell said “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.”
A FEMA spokesperson told CNN the agency believes the incident was “isolated.”
“The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes,” the spokesperson said.