House panel to interview second FEMA official regarding orders to avoid Trump supporters

The letter calls for the interview to be scheduled before Dec. 9. The interview is expected to include allegations from Washington that Florida was not an isolated incident, and that she was following Hershey's orders.

Published: December 5, 2024 5:22pm

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green on Thursday sent a letter to a second Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee, requesting an interview about guidance the department issued to avoid houses of President-elect Donald Trump supporters in the wake of two major hurricanes.

One FEMA official told disaster relief workers to avoid the houses when canvassing in Lake Placid, Florida, ahead of the 2024 presidential election. At least 20 houses were reportedly skipped over the guidance, and therefore were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance.

The letter was addressed to Chad Hershey, the supervisor of former FEMA employee Marn’i Washington, who gave the order. The Homeland Security panel interviewed Washington about the guidance on Wednesday.

“The Committee seeks to uncover the complete nature and extent of FEMA’s misconduct in withholding federal assistance from Americans based on political affiliation,” Green wrote. “Your observations and experience as Ms. Washington’s Task Force Lead for the Disaster Survival Assistance Task Force are vital to the Committee’s investigation.”

The letter calls for the interview to be scheduled before Dec. 9. The interview is expected to include allegations from Washington that Florida was not an isolated incident, and that she was following Hershey's orders.

“In an interview following her termination, Ms. Washington claimed that her instructions to FEMA workers were not exceptional, but rather that you, as her direct supervisor, instructed her to avoid homes that had signs bearing support for President-elect Donald J. Trump to avoid ‘community trends of political hostility,’” Green wrote. 

Since the allegations in Florida surfaced, FEMA whistleblowers in North Carolina and Georgia have also claimed there was misconduct within the agency when it comes to Trump supporters, according to the Daily Wire.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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