Next week, the Biden-Harris administration official in charge of the embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will face two back-to-back U.S. House hearings within a single day of intense grilling over the department's alleged discrimination against hurricane-impacted homes that displayed pro-Trump signs.
FEMA Director Deanne Criswell will have to answer questions before Congress about the discriminatory practice, whether it's widespread, and if it's, indeed, agency policy, as alleged by a former FEMA supervisor. The ex-employee says she was simply following orders from her higher-ups when she directed disaster relief workers to "avoid homes advertising Trump" in deep-red Highlands County, Florida.
Criswell is scheduled to appear at the pair of consecutive congressional proceedings on Tuesday: one to take place in the morning and the other an afternoon panel.
First, she'll face the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Republican-led Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Next week, the Committee will hear from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about the Agency's preparedness & response to recent disasters.
— T&I Committee Republicans (@TransportGOP) November 12, 2024
This hearing comes amid troubling reports that emergency aid was not reaching some disaster victims and was being denied to others. pic.twitter.com/oJyCRpbttA
According to a press release announcing Criswell's appearance at the hearing, titled "In the Eye of the Storm: Oversight of FEMA's Disaster Readiness and Response," in the wake of "troubling reports" that emergency assistance was not reaching disaster victims, committee chairman Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) and subcommittee chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) jointly launched an investigation into FEMA's preparedness and response strategies to sufficiently provide prompt relief to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
However, their probe has since expanded to examining the agency's guidelines on allocating aid and whether FEMA officials are politicizing recovery services.
"More recently, additional reports have surfaced that some FEMA officials may have de-prioritized assisting homes displaying Trump for President campaign signs," the subcommittee's statement says.
On X, Graves said, "It's come to light that FEMA workers intentionally avoided homes with Trump signs in their yards following Hurricane Milton. This is egregious. FEMA needs to be held accountable. I expect answers for this blatant disregard for victims based on political ideology."
Reps. Chuck Edwards and Deborah Ross, who both represent congressional districts in storm-ravaged North Carolina, where FEMA withheld aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, are also slated to appear as witnesses.
Rep. David Rouzer, a North Carolina congressman on the committee, remarked, "This raises serious concerns about the federally-funded agency putting politics over people during some of their darkest days. We need answers on why this happened."
Afterward, Criswell will then testify in front of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability at 2:00 p.m. ET.
🚨BREAKING🚨
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) November 9, 2024
I’m calling on FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to appear & testify before the House Oversight Committee at a hearing on November 19.
FEMA has a responsibility to all Americans & @GOPoversight is committed to ensuring FEMA adheres to its disaster relief mission. pic.twitter.com/5HbWhHsgOI
There, she'll again address allegations regarding now-fired FEMA official Marn'i Washington's directive ordering federal personnel to bypass properties in Florida that sported Trump campaign signage.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the U.S. Oversight Committee, said the investigative body is examining FEMA's emergency response efforts in order to ensure that all Americans — regardless of political affiliation — are afforded equal opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance.
"Reports have now surfaced that a FEMA official recently instructed relief workers to avoid homes displaying support for President Donald Trump. Not only are these actions by a FEMA employee completely unacceptable, but the Committee remains deeply concerned that this is not an isolated incident at the agency," Comer commented.
"FEMA has a responsibility to use taxpayer dollars effectively and deliver assistance in a seamless, swift timeframe. To ensure FEMA is fulfilling their mission and all Americans are receiving the assistance they need, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is taking immediate action, and we look forward to hearing directly from FEMA Administrator Criswell on the agency's disaster relief efforts and taxpayer-funded operations," the chairman added.
After she was sent packing, Washington broke her silence in an interview on Tuesday with The Black Star Network, which broadcasts the perspectives of "Black thought leaders, influencers and opinion makers."
Washington said she was thrown under the bus to protect the agency's image and that it's actually agency-wide protocol for FEMA workers to skip "politically hostile" houses when surveying property damage.
She said it was not an "isolated incident," as the agency insists, but "a colossal event" spanning across other states, too — not just Florida, but the Carolinas as well. (FEMA responders were reportedly relocated over concerns of an "armed militia" allegedly threatening staff in some parts of North Carolina.)
"FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation, so this is not isolated," Washington retorted.
"Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know," she asserted. "But if you ask the [Disaster Survivor Assistance] crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field, they will tell you."
Washington brought the receipts to the show, sharing a text message that she sent a superior saying that one neighborhood in Lake Placid was "politically hostile," so "We are not canvassing this street further." According to the text exchange, the supervisor responded, "Great decision. Thanks for the update."
FEMA, while mitigating the PR damage, suggested Washington had made an independent, managerial decision when she directed staff to snub pro-Trump residences. Washington's orders were not approved by the agency, a FEMA spokesperson countered, and she had "no authority" to issue those directions.
Criswell released a statement of her own over the weekend on the "employee misconduct," in which she called Washington's actions "reprehensible" and "a clear violation" of FEMA's core values:
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. Recently, one 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 and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation. 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.
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.
FEMA excluded at least 20 households in Florida either flying Trump flags or bearing Trump signs in their backyards, whistleblowers told The Daily Wire. FEMA workers would enter into the government's logging system notes such as "Trump sign, no contact per leadership" and "Per leadership no stop Trump flag" to track addresses they did not visit, citing the guidance.
Whistleblowers say that relief workers were told it was "best practice" to pass over houses "advertising Trump."
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 8, 2024
The workers would enter into the system that they made no contact with the residents, blaming the directive: "Trump sign, no contact per leadership" pic.twitter.com/1b0uL7pSDy
News of the discrimination scandal triggered a flurry of investigations at the federal and state level.
Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an inquiry into the situation Friday, saying, "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."
At his direction, the state's Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) is launching an investigation into the federal government's "targeted discrimination" of Floridians who support Trump.
"New leadership is on the way in DC, and I'm optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired," DeSantis added.
FDEM's executive director Kevin Guthrie noted that since FEMA plays a critical role in assisting communities during times of disaster and crisis, it is "essential that the Agency's actions be fair, impartial, and focused on the needs of those affected, notwithstanding their political beliefs; any actions otherwise erode credibility with the public that we are entrusted to serve."
Criswell, the first woman to head FEMA, was appointed by President Joe Biden in January 2021.
In a statement reacting to the nomination, she stressed the "increasing threat of climate change," urging that "it is imperative" that FEMA addresses it and serves Americans "equitably." Under Criswell, FEMA has undergone an ideological overhaul; in accordance, the agency prioritizes "equity" and "climate resilience" over emergency readiness.
During her swearing-in ceremony, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose department oversees FEMA, praised Criswell as a compassionate and fair leader. "I have full confidence in her ability to lead FEMA with compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect as she works to fulfill the agency’s ever-important mission: helping people before, during, and after disasters," Mayorkas said.
Previously, the FEMA chief served as commissioner of NYC's Emergency Management Department, where she led the city’s response to COVID-19, and worked under the Obama administration as a FEMA coordinating officer leading the national incident management team.
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