WASHINGTON \u2014 FEMA staff broke the law when they skipped over 11 hurricane-hit Florida homes with signs supporting President Trump in 2024, a federal watchdog found in a report released Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General faulted a FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) crew for Hurricane Milton after they passed by the houses \u201cdue to the presence of political signage supporting then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump, violating FEMA policy and the Hatch Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese issues occurred due to weaknesses in FEMA\u2019s training, documentation, and oversight,\u201d the watchdog determined.<\/p>\n
A crew canvasses in Buncombe County, NC, after Hurricane Helene. DVIDS<\/p>\n
\u201cFEMA DSA crews did not receive ethics and Hatch Act training before deploying to disasters, DSA policies and procedures did not require crews to explain why they skipped homes, and DSA crew leaders were not required to conduct quality control reviews of survivor interactions.\u201d<\/p>\n
FEMA supervisor Marn\u2019i Washington<\/a>\u00a0didn\u2019t deny instructing her crew members not to offer disaster-relief services to Hurricane Milton victims in Florida supporting the Republican president\u2019s 2024 campaign \u2014 but insisted the suggestion wasn\u2019t isolated to her group.<\/p>\n \u201cFEMA preaches avoidance first, and then de-escalation,\u201d she told YouTube podcaster Roland Martin after being fired<\/a> in November 2024. \u201cThis is not isolated.\u201d<\/p>\n A Trump 2024 campaign sign lies among debris where homes were destroyed after Hurricane Helene passed through the Florida panhandle on Sunday, September 29, 2024, in Keaton Beach, Florida. REUTERS<\/p>\n The staffers canvassed Lake Placid, Fla., between late October and early November, denying residents the opportunity to sign up for federal disaster relief assistance\u00a0in the wake of the Category 3 hurricane\u2019s landfall<\/a>.<\/p>\n The former FEMA boss had already been hit with a Hatch Act complaint<\/a> filed with the US Office of Special Counsel last year, which may have forced her to accept civil penalties or debarment from any future federal employment.<\/p>\n