An employee for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was fired last week after it was discovered she told her survivor assistance team to avoid going to homes with President-elect Trump campaign signs.
The employee’s firing was confirmed by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who described the situation in a statement as “reprehensible.”
Criswell also noted in the statement that “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.”
She went on to say that “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.”
Criswell remarked that this was a “clear violation” of the agency’s “core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”
FEMA did not name the employee who was terminated, though Criswell did share that the incident was referred to the Office of Special Counsel.
“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,” Criswell said.
The news comes after The Daily Wire reported about the employee telling workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” That report cited internal discussions between the employee and workers. The report also noted that at least 20 homes were bypassed due to this guidance.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has commented on the situation, announcing on social media that he was launching an investigation into 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 said 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.”
After the report from The Daily Wire came out, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) sent Criswell a letter demanding that she answer for what was being reported on.
“I just took swift action for the American people, and I’m demanding answers from [Criswell] on why Americans were discriminated against by their government based on who they support in an election. The findings are revolting, and we need accountability,” Luna said in the letter.