FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members conduct outreach to provide local and FEMA resources to Charlotte County residents in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Oct. 22, 2024. (Photo courtesy of FEMA)

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell told two U.S. House panels Tuesday that there is no evidence that an order to deny emergency relief to Donald Trump supporters went beyond a single rogue employee — though Criswell said she welcomed a robust investigation to confirm that.

A long line of Republicans denounced the action of a low-level agency supervisor working in Florida following Hurricane Milton. The supervisor told her team to avoid canvassing houses that displayed support for Trump, at the time the Republican nominee in the 2024 election and now the president-elect.

Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee with oversight of FEMA and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee were largely congenial toward Criswell. They thanked her for terminating the employee while still questioning if a larger culture of political targeting plagued the agency.

Criswell repeatedly told the panels the incident appeared to be isolated. She added that the agency was conducting an internal investigation to determine if any other employees were involved.

The fired employee, Marn’i Washington, was not named during the morning’s Transportation and Infrastructure hearing but has openly discussed the matter with news media. Members of the Oversight Committee did name Washington during the afternoon hearing.

“The actions of this employee are unacceptable, and it is not indicative of the culture of FEMA, and I do not believe that there is a widespread cultural problem,” Criswell said at the Transportation and Infrastructure hearing. “I have directed ongoing investigations, working with the (Homeland Security inspector general), working with the Office of the Special Counsel, and if we find any other acts of similar behavior, we will take appropriate disciplinary measures.”

Criswell said the employee directed about 11 subordinates to skip houses with Trump signs. About 20 homes in Florida were passed over, she said.

Larger problem?

Pressed by Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee Chair Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, Criswell said she would request an inspector general investigation.

Perry and other GOP members said they would continue to probe allegations from Washington that her directions to avoid canvassing homes with Trump signs were part of a larger directive within the agency.

“If that is the case, more people at FEMA must be held accountable,” Perry said.

At the afternoon hearing of the Oversight Committee, Chair James Comer of Kentucky said a politicized civil service workforce was a problem throughout the federal bureaucracy.

“While today’s hearing will focus on FEMA, the issue at hand is part of a larger problem: the urgent need to hold the unelected, unaccountable federal workforce accountable to the American people and to the duly elected president of the United States,” he said. “In his first term, President Trump faced not only open insubordination from federal employees who refused to help implement his policies, but also subtler practices intended to thwart elements of his agenda.”

While the internal FEMA investigation is ongoing, Criswell could say only that she had “seen no evidence that this was anything beyond one person’s specific instructions to her team.”

She added that investigators had questioned “other personnel” in the employee’s chain of command and had found “no information at this point that there was anything beyond her direction to her employees to skip and bypass a home.”

She told House Oversight member Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, that she would comply with any requests for information or agency communications the committee requested.

Republicans on both panels praised Criswell’s handling of the immediate situation.

“I think you did your job, and I think you did it well,” Minnesota Republican Pete Stauber told Criswell. “You terminated that employee who weaponized the federal government as quickly as you can. And I think we need to do more of that.”

Democrats warn of misinformation

Democrats on both panels also denounced Washington’s actions, while warning that misinformation has made FEMA workers’ jobs more difficult.

Nevada’s Dina Titus, the ranking Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure panel, said she was “very upset” to learn about the incident.

“I condemn the employee’s decision,” she said. “That should never be the case and Administrator Criswell immediately did the right thing when she learned about this incident, by firing the employee and referring the case to the Office of Special Counsel.”

Washington has defended her action partially by saying the agency has a policy to avoid confrontations when canvassing in the wake of a disaster.

Oversight ranking Democrat Jamie Raskin of Maryland called the judgment “a bad mistake, legally and constitutionally, which violated the core mission of FEMA and every federal agency to work on behalf of all Americans.”

“It’s plainly wrong and divisive to use a presidential campaign lawn sign as a proxy for someone’s dangerousness,” he said.

Democrats on both panels decried an environment of misinformation that could foment hostility toward federal aid workers.

“I was disgusted with the ridiculous rumors that were floating around cautioning people that government was going to bulldoze over their communities, seize their homes and divert disaster aid to other programs,” Titus said.

Raskin said FEMA aid workers encountered “a cloud of propaganda and lies concocted to erode public trust in FEMA.”

“Because of this disinformation, many victims of hurricanes have rejected federal assistance, and others have even harassed and threatened FEMA workers,” he said.

Trump retribution

New Jersey’s Jeff Van Drew, a Republican member of Transportation and Infrastructure, told Democrats to be wary about FEMA aid being denied to opponents of a presidential administration.

“People on the other side of the aisle should know: If it happened to us, it could happen to them,” he said.

Democrats noted that Trump had threatened to withhold FEMA aid based on political affiliation during his first term.

Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat, criticized “hypocrisy” from Republicans on the Oversight panel who denounced political targeting of Trump supporters without acknowledging Trump reportedly had to be convinced to send aid to disaster-struck areas he thought were heavily Democratic. 

Debris and a mobile home are piled up along a tree line in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 29, 2024 in Old Fort, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve $98.4 billion in emergency spending to bolster the federal government’s response and recovery efforts following a series of natural disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton that devastated parts of Southeastern states.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Agriculture would receive the bulk of the funding request, if lawmakers approve it in full, though they can increase, decrease, or ignore whatever they wish.

Congress is expected to begin vetting the supplemental spending request this week before departing on a one-week Thanksgiving break. It’s likely lawmakers and staff will release an emergency spending bill in early December when both chambers return for a three-week session.

“It is absolutely critical that these communities know that their government has not forgotten them,” White House budget director Shalanda Young said Monday in a briefing with reporters.

The spending request, she said, would address a series of natural disasters throughout the country, including ongoing recovery efforts following the wildfires in Maui; tornados across the Midwest; the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland; and severe storms in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia were hit by the hurricanes.

Busy hurricane, tornado seasons

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said during the call that 2024 has been “a year of records.”

“Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic and Hurricane Helene has devastated six states,” Criswell said. “We saw the second-busiest spring tornado season ever recorded. And we’ve seen, overall, a 50% increase in disaster activity.”

FEMA managed 114 disaster declarations during 2023, but has provided response and recovery aid to 172 natural disasters so far this year, Criswell said.

“To date, FEMA has obligated over $7.5 billion alone for the response and recovery for Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” she said. “These storms were incredibly large and spending on the first month, post-landfall for each storm outpaced nearly all disasters that we have responded to over the last 20 years.”

FEMA, she said, has enough funding to continue its life-saving response and recovery activities through the end of a stopgap funding bill on Dec. 20, assuming no other major disasters take place.

The emergency spending request released Monday asks Congress to provide

• $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund.

• $24 billion for the Department of Agriculture to “provide assistance to farmers that experienced crop or livestock losses due to natural disasters like hurricanes, drought and wildfires.” That funding would also go toward a permanent overhaul of pay for federal wildland firefighters and emergency food support programs, like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants and Children or WIC, according to a fact sheet.

• $12 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery programs.

• $8 billion for the Department of Transportation to repair roads and bridges throughout 40 states and territories that were “seriously damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic failures from external causes,” according to a fact sheet.

• $4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency for “long-term water system upgrades” as well as hazardous waste and debris clean up.

• $3 billion for the Health and Human Services Department, which Young said would help “build supply chain capacity and resilience for IV fluids and other critical medical products that became scarce during recent hurricanes.”

• $2 billion for the Small Business Administration for low-interest disaster loans.

• $2 billion for the Commerce Department for flexible economic development grants and to buy three “hurricane hunter” aircraft.

• $1 billion for the Education Department to aid schools in affected areas.

• $1 billion for the Energy Department to “support grid rebuilding, modernization and future hardening efforts in areas hardest hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and funding to implement energy recovery efforts in communities affected by the Maui wildfires,” according to a fact sheet.

• $500 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to reimburse the cost of cleaning up wreckage after a ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

• $300 million for the State Department to “address the need for additional water infrastructure to prevent and reduce sewage flows and contamination at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant” in California. 

• $200 million for the Interior Department for several programs, including a permanent overhaul of federal wildland firefighter pay, repairing siphons on the St. Mary Canal in Montana and mapping hazard impacts, according to the fact sheet.

• $200 million for the Department of Labor’s Dislocated Worker National Reserve.

• $100 million for the Legal Services Corporation for legal assistance for low-income disaster survivors.

• $100 million for AmeriCorps for disaster recovery projects.

Congress to probe disaster recovery

Congressional committees are holding a series of hearings this week to delve into how the Biden administration responded to the slew of natural disasters that have happened this year and to vet the supplemental spending request.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday morning with Criswell; North Carolina Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents western sections of the state, including Asheville; and Florida Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, who represents parts of the Tampa Bay area.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon on FEMA’s natural disaster response, with testimony from Criswell.

On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on disaster funding needs with testimony from Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Adrianne Todman and FEMA Administrator Criswell.

The Appropriations committees in the House and Senate will work with leadership to draft the supplemental spending bill. 

Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., released a written statement Monday calling on her colleagues to quickly approve an emergency spending bill.

“We cannot afford to delay further in getting disaster relief across the line so that communities can rebuild schools, roads, and utilities, families can get back on their feet, and our small businesses and farmers can stay afloat,” Murray said. “As we get additional updates from agencies from their ongoing assessments, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the remaining weeks of this Congress to craft and pass a bipartisan disaster package that addresses this request and other critical disaster needs in order to meet the urgent challenges communities all across our country are facing.”

President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government’s response and recovery efforts to hurricane season in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday urged Congress to end its recess early and return to Capitol Hill to approve emergency funding for hurricane recovery, even though his budget office hasn’t released the supplemental request that would kick off the process.

Biden also rebuked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for spreading misinformation about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, saying it was irresponsible.

“Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life man, help these people,” Biden said, later adding he has no plans to speak directly with Trump.

Biden criticized Trump and others for saying the $750 payment people in the hardest-hit areas are eligible for from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be the only aid they get from the federal government.

“Mr. Trump and all those other people know it’s a lie to suggest that’s all they’re going to get. That’s bizarre,” Biden said. “They’ve got to stop this. I mean, they’re being so damn un-American with the way they’re talking about this stuff.”

Biden said the public would hold Trump accountable and then told the small group of reporters allowed to listen to his remarks in person that journalists better “hold him accountable, because you know the truth.”

Helene brought devastation to multiple states including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and  Virginia. More than 230 deaths have been reported.

At least 12 deaths  have been reported after Milton struck Florida this week.

Trump video

Trump released a video on social media Thursday addressed to Florida residents, saying that he was praying for them and that they would receive help if he’s elected president. Trump is in the last weeks of a tight contest with the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Hopefully on January 20th you’re going to have somebody that’s really going to help you and help you like never before because help is on the way,” Trump said. “Together we will rebuild, we will recover and we will come back stronger, bigger, better than ever before.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed that FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to help natural disaster survivors because money is being directed to noncitizens.

FEMA wrote that is not true, on a webpage designed to address a spike in misinformation and disinformation following the hurricanes.

“No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”

Misinformation and disinformation about natural disaster recovery have been spreading through other avenues as well, including social media and podcasts.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said earlier this week she expected combating rumors and lies will become a regular part of natural disaster recovery.

SBA in need of funding

Speaking from the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Biden said the cost of recovery would be in the billions of dollars, but declined to put a specific number on how much emergency funding he’ll ask lawmakers to approve.

While FEMA has the funding it needs for now, with about $20 billion in its disaster relief fund, Biden said the Small Business Administration is in urgent need of emergency money from Congress so that it can provide assistance to natural disaster survivors.

“In terms of the SBA, it’s pretty right at the edge right now,” Biden said. “And I think the Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately. They’re going to have to come back after the election as well because this is going to be a long haul for total rebuilding.”

Congress left Capitol Hill in late September for a six-week election break and isn’t scheduled to return until Nov. 12.

Numerous lawmakers have called on congressional leaders to bring the two chambers back into session to approve emergency spending legislation.

So far, Republican leadership in the House and Democratic leaders in the Senate have decided against summoning lawmakers back to Washington, D.C., in part, because they don’t yet have a request from the Biden administration.

Typically, emergency spending bills begin to move forward in Congress after the White House budget office sends lawmakers a supplemental spending request.

That agency, also known as the Office of Management and Budget, hasn’t yet released the request, which will detail how much in extra funding it would like Congress to approve for various agencies, like the Small Business Administration and FEMA.

The Office of Management and Budget didn’t respond to a request from States Newsroom asking when it plans to send lawmakers the supplemental spending request.

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