A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisor instructed disaster relief workers to bypass homes displaying support for President-elect Donald Trump in a hurricane-devastated Florida community, according to reports published in the Daily Wire.
The supervisor, Marn'i Washington, issued the directive both verbally and through a Microsoft Teams chat to workers surveying damage in Lake Placid following Hurricane Milton's destruction last month, the Daily Wire reported.
"Avoid homes advertising Trump," Washington wrote in a "best practices" memo to employees, listing the instruction alongside other guidelines such as not going "anywhere alone," practicing "de-escalation," staying hydrated, and "following the rules."
According to employees who spoke to the Daily Wire, approximately 20 residences with Trump signs or flags were deliberately skipped between late October and November, effectively denying those residents the opportunity to apply for federal disaster assistance in the wake of the Category 3 hurricane.
Workers documented these exclusions in FEMA's tracking system with notes stating "Trump sign no entry per leadership."
"FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation and we are deeply disturbed by this employee's actions," a FEMA spokesperson told The New York Post.
"While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again," they added.
The spokesperson emphasized the agency's response to the situation: "We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels."
Gov Ron DeSantis of Florida condemned the incident on X, characterizing it as evidence of government "weaponization" under the Harris-Biden administration.
"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," DeSantis wrote.
While FEMA employees told the Daily Wire that Washington was merely transferred to a different Florida county, a FEMA spokesperson clarified to The New York Post that Washington is "no longer working in the state of Florida or in any FEMA operations at this moment" pending investigation results.
