Fact Check: FEMA Official Told Workers to Skip Homes With Pro-Trump Signs After Hurricane Milton
Claim:
Prior to the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, 2024, a FEMA official instructed relief workers to skip past homes of residents with pro-Donald Trump signs in their front yards.
Rating:
Context:
FEMA confirmed firing the employee who gave the order. We were unable to independently confirm how many households were impacted by the guidance or the number of staff members who received the order.
On Nov. 8, 2024, an investigation from conservative news outlet The Daily Wire claimed that an official of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had instructed hurricane-response workers to avoid homes with signs supporting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in their front yards.
The story spread on Facebook, Reddit, and X, and a number of readers shared screenshots with us of the purported messages.
(Screenshot via reader)
The Daily Wire reported FEMA skipped at least 20 homes in Lake Placid, Florida, after Hurricane Milton struck, due to the guidance. The story stated:
A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to "avoid homes advertising Trump" as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn'i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire.
The government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: "Trump sign no entry per leadership."
After the story published, FEMA confirmed an employee had indeed told workers to skip homes with pro-Trump signs. The agency said it terminated the employee. As such, we rate this claim as true.
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell released a statement on Nov. 9, 2024, saying:
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 did not, however, confirm where the employee was operating, the number of homes affected, or the extent to which the instructions were distributed to workers. We have reached out to the agency to learn more and will update this story if we get more information.
Per The Daily Wire report, the supervisor issued the guidance verbally and then over a group chat in late October 2024. The Trump-related instructions were reportedly deleted soon after, and by Oct. 30, 2024, the employee walked back the instructions about skipping homes that appeared to support Trump.
FEMA workers had been in Florida supporting residents who suffered during Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the employee's behavior "targeted discrimination" and added, "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."
Sources:
Bowman, Emma. "FEMA Worker Fired for Telling Hurricane Responders to Avoid Homes with Pro-Trump Signs." NPR, 9 Nov. 2024. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2024/11/09/g-s1-33601/fema-worker-hurricane-trump-signs-florida." target="blank">https://www.npr.org/2024/11/09/g-s1-33601/fema-worker-hurricane-trump-signs-florida.">https://www.npr.org/2024/11/09/g-s1-33601/fema-worker-hurricane-trump-signs-florida. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
"EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs." The Daily Wire, 8 Nov. 2024. https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-fema-official-ordered-relief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs." target="blank">https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-fema-official-ordered-relief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs.">https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-fema-official-ordered-relief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
"Statement from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Employee Misconduct." FEMA.Gov. 9 Nov. 2024, https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20241109/statement-fema-administrator-deanne-criswell-employee-misconduct." target="blank">https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20241109/statement-fema-administrator-deanne-criswell-employee-misconduct.">https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20241109/statement-fema-administrator-deanne-criswell-employee-misconduct. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
