FEMA whistleblower alleges agency official told relief workers to skip pro-Trump houses

A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) whistleblower on Friday filed a complaint that alleged that an agency official in Florida told disaster relief workers to skip houses that had pro-Donald Trump signs in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

The employees were allegedly told in late October that they should skip houses of Trump supporters when canvassing in Lake Placid, Florida. The guidance was allegedly communicated both verbally and in group chat messages, according to the Daily Wire, though the messages have since been deleted.

At least 20 houses were reportedly skipped over the guidance, and therefore were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. The whistleblower's allegations were confirmed by multiple federal employees, the outlet reported.

The guidance was allegedly given to a group of Department of Homeland Security volunteers who were part of a surge capacity force team. The employees offered to help FEMA with its disaster relief in the wake of two major hurricanes.

“I know they’re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,” one of the employees said. “When we got there we were told to discriminate against people. It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay.” 

The employee added that it felt wrong to discriminate against people who needed assistance, regardless of political affiliation or race.

“This behavior raises significant concerns of discrimination against United States citizens because of their political views,” a copy of the complaint obtained by The Daily Wire said. “These actions not only undermine the integrity of our agency and create a hostile work environment for those who may hold differing political beliefs but they also threaten the very democracy of our country.” 

A FEMA spokesperson said the person who was responsible for the order has been removed from their post, and that the staffer did not have the authority to issue the guidance and was not told to do so. 

“While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again,” the spokesperson told the outlet. "We are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident. This is a matter that we take extremely seriously and we are doing everything we can to make sure all survivors receive support from FEMA."

"To date, we have helped over 365,000 households impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the state of Florida and have provided over $898 million in direct assistance to survivors," they added.

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday ordered an investigation into the incident.

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