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. 

The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. Approximately 6 feet of debris piled on the bridge from Lake Lure to Chimney Rock, blocking access. (Melissa Sue Gerrits | Getty Images)

WASHINGTON —   Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Tuesday that rumors and disinformation will become a regular part of natural disaster response moving forward, and rebuked those seeking to benefit politically from spreading false information.

The volume and type of disinformation spreading about FEMA, as Southeast states struggle to recover from Hurricane Helene, is the worst Criswell said she has ever seen, following a “steady increase” in rumors following previous natural disasters.

Incorrect information about FEMA and its response to natural disasters has been spreading through numerous avenues, including social media, podcasts and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s numerous comments and posts. Criswell did not name any politicians or other individuals during the call with reporters.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton is barrelling toward Florida’s Gulf Coast and expected to make landfall by Wednesday night. Meteorologists are warning the storm could be one of Florida’s worst. Thousands of people were evacuating Tuesday.

Criswell said she’s concerned the lies about various aspects of FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene may have a chilling effect on whether people harmed by natural disasters apply for assistance. It could also potentially endanger first responders on the ground.

“It’s just really demoralizing to them. It hurts their morale and they’ve left their families to be able to come in here and help people,” she said of first responders and FEMA staff.

While no one has physically attacked FEMA staff or other emergency responders so far, Criswell said, she and others are closely monitoring misinformation as well as how people in areas hit by natural disasters react to it.

FEMA’s collaboration with local law enforcement can help to monitor safety and security issues, though rumors and disinformation could make matters worse, she said.

“If it creates so much fear that my staff don’t want to go out in the field, then we’re not going to be in a position where we can help people,” Criswell said, adding that she does have concerns about “the safety of our folks that are walking around in neighborhoods that may or may not have full confidence in the government.”

“And so we are watching that closely to make sure that we’re providing for their safety as well,” she said.

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

Storm victims

The rumors and inaccurate information about FEMA’s response and recovery efforts are “creating fear in some” people who are trying to navigate their way through the hurricane recovery process, Criswell said.

“I worry that they won’t apply for assistance, which means I can’t get them the necessary items they need,” Criswell said. “And so those are the biggest impacts I see as a result of this constant narrative that is more about politics than truly helping people.”

She said the current situation is worse than ever.

“We have always put up rumor control pages because there’s always been people that have been out there trying to take advantage of those that have just lost so much in creating false websites and trying to get their information and defrauding people and the federal government,” Criswell said. “And so not something that’s new, but the level of rhetoric just continues to rise.”

Following the Maui wildfires in August 2023, federal officials worked with local officials to help reassure Hawaiians the rumors and disinformation that spread following that disaster were not true.

Some of the disinformation about the Maui wildfires was from “foreign state actors,” Criswell said.

FEMA was eventually able to get federal assistance to everyone who needed it, but it took much longer than it would have otherwise, she said.

The first assistance people in hard-hit areas often receive from FEMA is a $750 payment meant to help with immediate needs like water, food, clothing and medicine.

There has been significant misinformation around that amount. Criswell clarified on the call that it’s the first installment from FEMA and that more assistance goes out to people affected by natural disasters as the recovery process moves forward.

“We know that they have immediate needs in the first few days, and it’s just an initial jump start to help them replace some of that,” Criswell said.

As FEMA gathers more information about property damage and other problems related to natural disasters, people will likely receive additional assistance for home repairs as well as the cost of staying in a hotel if their home was badly damaged.

FEMA then continues to work with people on longer-term needs, like rental assistance, if that’s needed.

FEMA has set up a webpage seeking to dispel rumors and disinformation about its response and recovery efforts.

It says that in most cases the money FEMA gives to disaster survivors does not have to be paid back and notes that the agency “cannot seize your property or land.”

“There are some less common situations in which you may have to pay FEMA back if you receive duplicate benefits from insurance or a grant from another source. For example, if you have insurance that covers your temporary housing costs, but you ask FEMA to advance you some money to help you pay for those costs while your insurance is delayed, you will need to pay that money back to FEMA after you receive your insurance settlement.”

The webpage also says that no funding for disaster recovery was diverted to address border security or immigration issues.

“This is false. 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.”

Funding questions

FEMA has plenty of funding to cover response and recovery efforts for the 100-plus open natural disasters throughout the country, but will need supplemental funding from Congress in the months ahead.

“I have enough funding to continue to support the response efforts for both of these events, and then continue to support the recovery efforts from all of the storms across the nation,” Criswell said, referring to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“However, I’m not going to be able to support those recoveries for long without a supplemental,” she added. “And we anticipate needing additional funding in the December, January time frame, or I’ll have to go back into what we call immediate needs funding again, where we pause obligations in our recovery projects to ensure that I can respond to an event like we’re seeing today.”

The first step for Congress to approve emergency funding for FEMA or any other federal agency is typically when the Office of Management and Budget sends a supplemental spending request to lawmakers on behalf of the White House.

Lawmakers can then choose to write legislation providing some, all, or more money than requested. They can also choose not to fund the emergency request, though that appears unlikely this time.

For the moment, FEMA has about $20 billion in its disaster relief fund, she said.

People who need assistance from FEMA should call 1-800-621-3362, register on https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or fill out an application on the FEMA app.

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