Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) announced Sunday an investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after whistleblowers told The Daily Wire that they were instructed to skip the homes of people with Trump signs or flags while providing hurricane relief in Florida.
Lee said that he would be working with the state’s attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti, to determine whether any residents of Tennessee were discriminated against by FEMA employees during the agency’s response to Hurricane Helene.
The direction comes after The Daily Wire reported that now-fired FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington told federal employees under her supervision to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida, to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Federal employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes were skipped because of the directive, which was given verbally and in writing.
“FEMA exists to serve all Americans, and these actions have eroded the people’s trust by failing to deliver desperately needed relief to all hurricane survivors,” Lee said in a statement first shared with The Daily Wire.
“Americans should never have the government weaponized against them. I am working with the Tennessee Attorney General to seek answers and determine whether Tennesseans were discriminated against, and look forward to President Trump taking swift action to remove partisan bureaucrats when he takes office,” Lee added.
Skrmetti said that the state would get answers from FEMA about the guidance.
“When natural disasters strike, our federal government should prioritize the well-being of survivors above all else. It is a moral abomination to abandon Americans during a crisis because of their political preferences,” he said. “We will demand answers from FEMA about whether political discrimination happened in Tennessee and work with the Governor’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice to secure the most severe consequences possible for any bureaucrats who put politics over people.”
Portions of east Tennessee were hammered by flooding caused from Hurricane Helene and some areas went weeks without hearing from FEMA. In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, locals told The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced Saturday that Washington had been fired and that her actions were “reprehensible.”
“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,” Criswell said.
A number of other investigations have been launched into FEMA after The Daily Wire report. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced that his state’s Division of Emergency Management would be looking into the federal agency. Lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee plan to investigate as well, and have asked for Criswell to testify before the committee on November 19.
