‘FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation,” fired supervisor says
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisor fired for instructing subordinates to skip over houses with Trump signs and banners now says her actions were consistent with agency guidance and were not isolated to her team alone.
The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, was fired by FEMA after outrage erupted that she had instructed disaster relief workers canvassing in Lake Placid, Florida, after Hurricane Milton to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
The Daily Wire first reported that government employees told the outlet at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were bypassed from the end of October into November due to “best practices” guidance from Washington. The houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote messages such as “Trump sign no entry per leadership” in a government system, per the outlet.
On Saturday, FEMA’s administrator on employee misconduct, Deanne Criswell, confirmed to Fox News Digital that Washington had been fired and called her actions “reprehensible” and a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of political affiliation.
FEMA OFFICIAL SAID TO AVOID HOMES WITH TRUMP SIGNS: ‘TO SAY I WAS SURPRISED WOULD BE A LIE’
A FEMA spokesperson told Fox News Friday the agency was “deeply disturbed” by Washington’s actions but insisted it was an “isolated incident.”
Hurricane Helene aftermath (Office of Congresswoman Kat Cammack)
The spokesperson said “the employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes, and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident.”
Speaking on an episode of the “Roland Martin Unfiltered” podcast Monday, Washington said her instructions complied with FEMA protocol to avoid homes determined to be hostile or dangerous to workers.
“They all allege that these actions were made in my own recognizance and that it was for my own political advances. However, if you look at the record, there is what we call a ‘community trend,’ and, unfortunately, it just so happened that the political hostility that was encountered by my team … they just so happened to have the Trump campaign signage,” said Washington.
Washington claimed that her instructions were given after team members had been verbally and physically threatened by hurricane victims with signs in support of the former president. She said her instructions followed FEMA’s “avoidance” and de-escalation policy.
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A drone view shows destroyed beach houses after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Manasota Key, Fla., Oct. 11, 2024. (Reuters/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo)
In contrast to FEMA’s assertion the incident was isolated, Washington said there were similar “avoidance” protocols in place not only in Florida but also in North Carolina.
“Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know, but if you ask the DSA [disaster survivor assistance] crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field, they will tell you,” she said. “FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation, so this is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.”
Last week, Republican Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, called for a hearing on the incident to be held Nov. 19. Washington said she would welcome an investigation by Republicans in Congress.
“Please do [investigate]. They will find this is not isolated. I state this over and over again. This is colossal,” she said. “Demand for FEMA to give you those incident reports. They will substantiate what we are experiencing in the field.”
A house sits damaged Oct. 8, 2024, in Asheville, N.C., in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
FEMA responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by forwarding a Nov. 9 statement by Criswell condemning Washington’s actions.
“One FEMA employee departed from these values to advise her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump,” Criswell said in the statement. “I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, 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.”
