The House Oversight Committee demanded access to internal documents from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its investigation into allegations of bias against Donald Trump voters.
Following a high-profile hearing before the committee on Tuesday, committee members are pressing FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell to provide information that could determine whether the agency discriminated against certain properties displaying Trump campaign signs. The hearing came after testimony from whistleblowers inside the agency indicated they were instructed to skip those houses while seeking to offer disaster relief from devastating hurricanes.
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“Recent whistleblower accounts allege that FEMA supervisors are deviating from the Agency’s mission and limiting relief based on the political affiliations of disaster survivors,” Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) wrote. “In light of these allegations, the Committee is seeking documents and information to ensure transparency and guarantee that disaster relief for Americans is not dictated based on political affiliation.”
The committee first opened its investigation after whistleblowers claimed they were instructed to “avoid homes advertising Trump” while surveying homes affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida. That supervisor who issued those instructions, Marn’i Washington, was later fired from her role, according to Criswell, calling those actions “reprehensible.”
Criswell testified earlier this month there was no evidence those instructions extended beyond those under Washington’s control. However, lawmakers on the Oversight Committee pointed to other whistleblower reports indicating the practices “may be more widespread than you led the Committee to believe.”
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Lawmakers cited an anonymous FEMA official who told the committee that the practice of avoiding “white or conservative-dominated” neighborhoods has been an “open secret at the agency that has been going on for years.”
Another whistleblower contacted the committee to testify that a FEMA contractor warned a “disabled veteran’s family” in Georgia to remove Trump campaign materials from their home to ensure they were not viewed as “domestic terrorists.”
“The Committee is in the process of investigating these claims. If they are true, they would corroborate concerns that political discrimination extends beyond Ms. Washington,” Comer wrote. “Furthermore, they suggest an apparent culture, whether sanctioned or not, within FEMA to politically discriminate against disaster survivors, specifically those who support President-elect Donald Trump.”
Washington has since defended her actions by noting she was merely following protocol when issuing guidance to avoid some homes and areas over others.
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The language in leaked documents was “shorthand,” Washington said, noting that she was letting her supervisors “know specific streets we could not do because of hostile political encounters,” she told the Washington Examiner. According to communications obtained by the Washington Examiner, Washington was encouraged and supported in her decision to avoid certain streets “to keep the team safe.”
Washington noted that not only did she and her teams canvas houses with Trump signage, but they also “registered and provided resources to Trump supporters.”
However, Washington said she added a bullet point on the team instructions about de-escalation, which she said was necessary because “FEMA workers were having their lives threatened.”
Documents requested by the committee include all Disaster Survivor Assistance surveys and incident reports that refer to a survivor’s political affiliation, including but not limited to references about Trump or related campaign materials. Lawmakers are also demanding access to any instructions, policies, or guidelines referring to avoidance, de-escalation, disengagement, and hostility.
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FEMA is also being asked to provide information on any reports or complaints the agency received about not being contacted by FEMA personnel or “apparent political discrimination” as well as any internal reports from FEMA employees or volunteers relating to political discrimination.
In addition to documents, the committee is pressing FEMA to allow a briefing with Task Force Lead Chad Hershey, who led Washington’s team as well as the highest-ranking official “with specific responsibility over disaster relief efforts in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Georgia.”