Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) demanded Tuesday that top Biden administration officials determine whether guidance from a FEMA employee for relief workers in Florida to skip homes with Trump signs was an isolated incident.
Paul, citing reporting from The Daily Wire, asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to preserve all documents related to guidance instructing relief workers in Lake Placid to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” FEMA has since fired Marn’i Washington, the employee who issued the guidance, saying they believe it was an “isolated incident.”
“I write to request information regarding recent reports that a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official instructed federal employees deployed to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton to withhold disaster assistance from homeowners displaying political signs in support of President-elect Donald Trump,” Paul wrote in a letter.
“These allegations of discrimination by FEMA employees based on the political beliefs of disaster victims raise serious questions about FEMA’s ability to impartially administer disaster relief to Americans,” the Kentucky Republican added.
On Tuesday, Washington told Roland Martin that FEMA has a widespread policy of avoiding “politically hostile” homes.
“FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation, so this is not isolated,” Washington said. “This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.”
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Paul, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said that the Biden administration needed to preserve all records related to the incident, including when officials first became aware of the guidance.
A whistleblower complaint was filed with DHS on October 27, FEMA only removed Washington from her role on November 8, after The Daily Wire report.
“While I commend you for your swift action to terminate the employee, this does not appear to be an isolated incident. It is alleged that FEMA workers received similar instructions when responding to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina,” Paul wrote. “This politically motivated discrimination is unacceptable and must be investigated to ensure that FEMA administers disaster relief funds appropriated by Congress fairly and transparently.”
He also asked them to provide a list of any other examples of “political discrimination” FEMA may have records of or been alerted to. Paul requests the officials to respond to his letter by November 26. A flurry of federal and state investigations was launched after The Daily Wire reported on the Trump sign guidance last week.