A Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisor who told her subordinates to skip Florida homes with Trump signs in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton has been fired.
Marn’i Washington, 38, told workers in a group chat to ‘avoid homes advertising Trump’ as they worked around the town of Lake Placid in late October and early November, according to The Daily Wire.
Her edict prompted workers to avoid at least 20 homes with signage indicating their support for the President-elect, leaving residents to fend for themselves without any federal aid, employees who spoke with the outlet reported.
Amid the outrage at the nation’s emergency department for the apparent discrimination, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced Saturday that Washington has been fired from her position.
‘This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation,’ she wrote of Washington’s actions, which she called ‘reprehensible.’
Marn’i Washington, 38, has been fired from her role as a supervisor at FEMA
She told workers in a group chat to ‘avoid homes advertising Trump’ as they worked around the town of Lake Placid in late October and early November
‘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 posted on X, announcing Washington’s termination from the agency.
‘I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again,’ she added.
According to the Daily Wire, the employees who followed Washington’s orders were part of a Department of Homeland Security team that was made up of volunteers from other agencies.
One of the workers said: ‘I thought we could go help and make a difference. When we got there we were told to discriminate against people.
‘It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay.’
The person added that it was wrong to discriminate against Trump supporters when they were their ‘most vulnerable’.
They added: ‘I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them. It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.’
Images also obtained by the outlet of the system used to document what homes they visited show notes being left that said: ‘Trump sign, no contact per leadership’.
But the Trump-related remarks were reportedly deleted from the group chat a few days after she posted them.
Images also obtained by the outlet of the system used to document what homes they visited show notes being left that said: ‘Trump sign, no contact per leadership’
Employees said they wound up skipping at least 20 homes with signage indicating their support for the President-elect
News of Washington’s order outraged Lake Placid residents, with Mayor John Holbrook telling the New York Post her discrimination ‘really sickens me.’
‘There are no parties when we are recovering.’
Over 30 people died after the storm wrecked catastrophe on communities, with homes left ruined as it caused an estimated $50billion in damage across the state.
An employee under Washington’s supervision later filed a complaint about the guidance with the federal Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA.
Now, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is demanding answers.
She wrote a letter to the agency on Friday, asking Criswell to provide answers about what she knew of Washington’s instructions, what actions FEMA had taken and when it first became aware of the guidance.
Additionally, Luna is asking the agency what actions it has taken to ensure that the homes that were skipped will receive necessary aid.
She demanded Criswell respond by November 25.
‘My district was one of the most heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene and Milton, and it has been sickening to hear that more than half of my constituents were discriminated against for their political beliefs,’ Luna told The Daily Wire on Saturday.
The lack of a response led residents to fend for themselves without any federal aid
She went on to claim that ‘big government bureaucrats despise everyday Americans because they are not politically expedient to them.
‘I’ll demand answers from FEMA Administrator Criswell, and Congress must fully investigate this matter,’ Luna said. ‘The days of putting Americans and America last are over.’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also announced that he has ordered a state investigation into Washington’s edict.
‘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,’ the governor said.
‘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.
‘New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.’
Trump wound up winning Florida’s 30 electoral votes, with the Associated Press calling the race just one hour after polls closed, when the president-elect was ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 11 percent with 86 percent of the votes counted.
