(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has opened an investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency after one of its workers said she was told by her bosses to avoid Trump supporters in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
The former FEMA worker, Marn’i Washington, was initially blamed for directing workers helping hurricane survivors not to go to homes with Trump yard signs. But on Monday, Washington said she had followed a widespread FEMA policy of avoiding “politically hostile” homes.
“FEMA preaches avoidance first, and then de-escalation. This is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance,” she said. “Not just in the state of Florida. You will find avoidance in the Carolinas.”
The FEMA official fired for telling workers to avoid homes with Trump signs in FL said this transpires in other states, including the Carolinas. People's lives were on the line. FEMA chose to discriminate against Americans for their beliefs. We will get to the bottom of this! pic.twitter.com/rmYKrV9CYM
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) November 12, 2024
Grassley now seeks answers about Washington’s allegations, which were supported by an anonymous FEMA official who talked to the New York Post.
“To know if this claim is substantively true, especially considering FEMA’s terminating her for inappropriate conduct, FEMA must produce responsive records to Congress,” Grassley said Friday in a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
“Politicization of who receives FEMA assistance is unacceptable, especially as the people affected by these disasters attempt to put their lives back together. The American people deserve a more robust and detailed explanation of this problem and FEMA’s plans to fix it,” he said.
Grassley told Criswell to provide his office all FEMA records mentioning “Trump,” “Republican,” “conservative,” “politics,” “MAGA,” and germane variations thereof in the last five years. He also demanded records related to FEMA’s decision-making process in choosing homes and properties to avoid.
Grassley seeks those and other records by Nov. 28.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
