The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisor accused of directing workers to skip hurricane-ravaged homes in Florida with Trump signs, claimed in an interview Monday that the policy was widespread and that she was being scapegoated.
Marn’i Washington was fired on Saturday after whistleblowers told the Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were passed over at the end of October into November due to the guidance, depriving them of the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. She had worked for the agency since 2019.
According to internal FEMA messages obtained by the Daily Wire, Washington directed workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida looking for residents who could qualify for federal aid.
This happened in Highlands County, “a deep-red area located in south central Florida that backed Trump by 70 percent on Tuesday,” the Daily Wire reported. The area was ravaged by tornadoes, torrential wind, rain, and flooding after Milton made landfall at Siesta Key on October 9 as a category 3 hurricane.
Washington’s directive was one among multiple “best practices” the agency recommended, along with “practice de-escalation and preventative measures,” “bring a towel with you tomorrow in the field” and take “frequent breaks and drink water.”
During an interview with YouTube podcaster Roland Martin Monday, Washington,39, explained that she had just been following FEMA’s policy of avoiding “politically hostile” homes. She said her supervisor had approved the message, explaining: “FEMA preaches avoidance first, and then de-escalation. This is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance.”
“Not just in the state of Florida. You will find avoidance in the Carolinas,” said Washington, adding that the incident reports would substantiate that FEMA workers were being met with “hostility” at homes with Trump Campaign signs.
“If you look at the record, there is what we call a community trend, and it just so happened that the political hostility that was encountered by my team—and I was on two different teams during this deployment—they just so happened to have the Trump Campaign signage,” Washington asserted.
“Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know, but if you ask the crew leads and specialists what they’re experiencing in the field, they will tell you,” she continued. “Demand for FEMA to give you those incident reports, they will substantiate what is happening to us in the field.”
“FEMA’s very well aware of the incidents that take place, not just with my crew, but with all the crews in the states,” Washington added.
The embattled former FEMA worker claimed that she knew of houses in the past had also been marked “politically hostile” when they had Harris-Walz signs or no political signs at all.
“We omitted these homes for safety precautions, not because of political play,” she insisted.
“If you greet any of our team members with hostility or aggression, we will deescalate and disengage and move on,” she said. “We cannot take the risk and deal with that type of behavior.”
Washington told Martin that she was fired from her job with a private real estate firm in the wake of the controversy, and had to move from her home due to threats.
A former FEMA official told the New York Post, however, that the policy of “openly” avoiding Trump-supporting houses had “been practiced by agency workers for years,” and suggested that the practice had noting to do with perceived “hostility.”
The ex-FEMA source said current employees told him that disaster assistance teams skip openly Trump-supporting houses in the name of DEI.
The unofficial policy is to “prioritize the most under resourced, marginalized communities first,” the source said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has launched an investigation into the practice, calling it “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” in a statement Friday.
“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,” DeSantis said. “New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”
The House Oversight Committee meanwhile launched an investigation into FEMA on Friday and sent a letter to Criswell requesting she testify at a hearing to answer questions about the agency’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said on X Tuesday that the Senate Homeland Security Committee also needs to investigate the matter.
“The Homeland Security Committee needs to launch an immediate investigation and call this individual to testify. Under oath. In public,” Hawley said.
With Republicans retaking the Senate, Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is line to take the HSGAC gavel early next year.
