Lawmakers across the country are calling for investigations after whistleblowers told The Daily Wire they were instructed to skip Trump supporters’ homes when surveying a Florida town in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.
FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington directed government employees working in Lake Placid, Florida, to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed the area to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages reviewed by The Daily Wire reveal. A FEMA spokesman confirmed the incident to The Daily Wire, saying the agency was “deeply disturbed” and “horrified” by the employee’s actions, and that it has “taken extreme actions to correct this situation.”
In response to the report, federal and state lawmakers called for an investigation into FEMA, promising to find answers about the guidance, which led disaster relief workers to skip at least 20 homes in the Lake Placid community.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state’s Division of Emergency Management would be investigating the incident.
“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 posted 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,” DeSantis added. “New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”
The House Committee on Homeland Security also promised to find answers.
“If these reports are true, they represent a gross failure to fulfill FEMA’s mission, and more importantly, to care for fellow Americans,” House Homeland Security posted on X. “We will be investigating, and we expect answers.”
Republican Senators James Lankford (OK) and Marsha Blackburn (TN) said Friday evening that their offices had independently confirmed The Daily Wire’s report. Reactions from other congressional Republicans also poured in.
“Whistleblower reveals FEMA officials in Florida were instructed to bypass hurricane-damaged homes that showed support for President Trump!” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said. “This is unconscionable discrimination, and Congress MUST INVESTIGATE!”
“FEMA discriminated against American’s for their political beliefs. Whoever ordered this better start looking for a job. You are going to be FIRED,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna posted on X.
“This is the bureaucratic state weaponized against Americans citizens,” Rep. Michael Cloud said. “Accountability is coming.”
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said the report showed that the government had been “weaponized” against “roughly half of all Americans.”
FEMA told The Daily Wire that it would ensure the homes that were skipped would receive visits from the agency.
“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,” it told The Daily Wire on Friday afternoon. “Helping people is what we do best and our workforce across the agency will continue to serve survivors for as long as it takes.”
Other lawmakers also weighed in on the story:
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