FEMA: Agency has fired more bosses in connection with hurricane recovery crews avoiding Trump homes

The Federal Emergency Management says the agency has fired three more employees following an investigation into allegations that houses in a hurricane disaster zone were skipped over because they displayed pro-Trump campaign materials.

The agency acknowledged the firings is a March 4 letter to the House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating the matter. 

Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton said his agency’s investigation also identified problems in Washington’s immediate supervisory chain of command, but said the issues were not part of any systemic problem. 

“The [internal] investigation found no evidence that this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership,” Hamilton wrote in a letter to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Tuesday. “However, it did determine that those in the immediate supervisor chain of the single staff member who engaged in this conduct should have had more direct control of their subordinates’ behavior.” 

He said, “Thus, they have failed to meet my expectations of leaders in this organization and have been terminated.” 

The official subject of a whistleblower complaint alleging she directed employees to "avoid homes advertising Trump," Marn'i Washington, was also terminated by the agency last year after her actions, the whistleblower said, lead to residents affected by dual hurricanes impacts in Florida being skipped over for federal aid. 

You can read the letter below: 

Comer praised the agency’s quick actions to ensure accountability for the incident and for implementing new trainings to prevent political discrimination in the future. 

“Political affiliation should never be a factor in distributing taxpayer-funded disaster relief to Americans. I applaud FEMA for holding bad actors accountable and the Trump Administration for taking measures to ensure this never happens again at the agency. Americans demand accountability in Washington and President Trump and his administration are delivering it,” he said in a statement on Friday.