House Republicans are set to question FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell next week over what they claim is political bias in the agency's response to the back-to-back hurricanes that pummeled Florida in late September and early October.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene confirmed the hearing on her X account, saying Criswell will "answer for her failures and blatant political bias against Trump supporters."
🚨 BOMBSHELL HEARING ALERT 🚨
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 15, 2024
This Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will testify before @GOPoversight to answer for her failures and blatant political bias against Trump supporters following record-setting hurricanes.
👇 I’m prepared to get answers. What questions…
The announcement comes on the heels of Florida suing Criswell for violating the civil rights of state residents. Concretely, state attorney general Ashley Moody accused FEMA officials of conspiring to discriminate against Republican hurricane victims. The suit also names FEMA supervisor Marn'i Washington, fired after reports that she directed workers in Lake Placid to skip over houses that had Trump campaign signs outside.
"Hurricane season is not over, and the federal agency in charge of emergency response is embroiled in scandal – caught withholding aid from storm victims in Florida who support President Trump," Moody said during a passage of the lawsuit.
"I am taking swift legal action to find out how far this political discrimination reaches and to make sure all Americans who fall victim to devastating storms are served, regardless of their political affiliation."
Criswell said in a statement announcing the firing that the employee's behavior was a "clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation. 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."
A new disaster relief team was deployed Friday to contact families who may not have been reached earlier. Politico reported last week that the strapped federal agency didn't answer almost half of the calls it received for disaster aid, apparently due to a shortage of resources.
Washington claimed she is being scapegoated and that similar practices were happening within the agency beyond her case.
Washington defended her actions as a safety measure during an appearance on Roland Martin's YouTube podcast. "If we are noticing on, for example, Mary Street, we're greeted with unwelcoming arms or people are coming out with guns blazing, screaming at us, then that's a street we need to avoid altogether."
"If you look at the record, there is what you call a community trend," Washington explained. "The political hostility that was encountered by my team, they just so happened to have the Trump campaign signage."
Washington emphasized that her directive was intended to protect FEMA workers, citing past experiences of hostility from both Biden and Trump supporters in past assignments, calling for a protocol of "disengaging and withdrawing."
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