The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Joseph Cuffari confirmed that his office initiated an audit of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in mid-December over worries that the agency’s employees avoided homes with President-elect Trump campaign yard signs in multiple states when assisting communities devastated by recent hurricanes, according to a letter shared with The Hill.
The audit was initiated on Dec. 17, and he notified House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa) on Monday, according to the letter.
Its objective is “to determine how well FEMA followed its policies and procedures when addressing safety concerns and determining community trends that impact disaster survivor assistance in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
Graves and Perry called for an investigation on Dec. 3 “into the multiple allegations of the deliberate avoidance of homes with Trump campaign or political signs” during FEMA’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“In North Carolina, the Committee is aware of reports of FEMA employees skipping any home that displayed a ‘Make America Great Again,’ ‘Drain the Swamp,’ ‘Don’t Tread on Me,’ or Trump campaign sign,” the House Republicans wrote in the 3-page letter. “If the FEMA field team encountered three or more of these signs, the field team could abandon the entire neighborhood without notifying hurricane victims of assistance available to them.”
Marn’i Washington, a former FEMA worker, was fired for allegedly directing an assistance team in Florida to bypass houses with Trump campaign signs and other merchandise. Washington later said she was being “framed” and placed the blame on her supervisor.
Cuffari said he would share the results of the audit, future reports on the topic and “any of our numerous projects” with the lawmakers if they would like to schedule him for a briefing.
“I share your sentiments that any disaster funding provided by Congress must be made available to all affected and that it cannot be conditioned or delayed based on political views,” Cuffari wrote in the letter.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell testified in November about the incident and previously said that not offering aid to individuals due to differing political beliefs was “completely at odds with FEMA’s mission.” Criswell also said she believes the incident was not part of a wider practice by the agency’s employees.
