Inspector General: FEMA discriminated against Trump supporters in aftermath of hurricanes

A federal investigation has confirmed that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel refused to provide disaster relief to a number of supporters of President Donald Trump. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a report on Aug. 18, confirming that, in the aftermath of 2024’s Hurricanes Helene and Milton, FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) crews skipped providing assistance to houses with signage or flags supporting then-candidate Trump.

Reports late in 2024 alleged that DSA supervisor Marn’i Washington instructed FEMA employees to “avoid homes advertising Trump” while crews were going door to door in Lake Placid, Florida, offering disaster relief funds. Houses with Trump signs or flags out front were skipped and labeled “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”

The DHS OIG’s report this month confirmed that Americans were denied disaster relief and support due to their political support for Trump. According to the report, nearly one dozen houses were skipped, but many records were lost when support contracts for FEMA’s Field Assessment and Collection Tools expired last year, so it is possible that many more houses were passed over due to political animus. The OIG faulted then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for hindering a proper investigation.

“In March 2025, we requested FEMA provide access to Survey123 information for all disasters. FEMA delayed our access for months,” the OIG report said. “FEMA could not renew the contract because then-Secretary Noem did not act on the FEMA request to fund the contract before its lapse.”

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While FEMA does allow DSA to skip offering assistance to some houses, avoiding particular houses due to political reasons is unallowable under both FEMA’s internal policies and the 1939 Hatch Act. Personnel are permitted to skip houses that have no trespassing, no soliciting, or private property signs posted, or those which are inaccessible due to debris, damage, or other safety hazards.

DSA crews canvassed nearly 750,000 houses between the end of September 2024 and January 2025, but reported that they made “no contact” with more than 555,000 of those houses, in most cases due to residents not being home or available. Of the fewer than 25,000 canvassing surveys with notes attached, the DHS OIG was able to identify at least 11 houses which were avoided for political reasons.

“[I]n the notes field all 11 surveys included the name of then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump to explain the reason for skipping the homes. The same DSA crew completed all 11 identified surveys,” the report noted. “These issues occurred due to weaknesses in FEMA’s training, documentation, and oversight. FEMA DSA crews did not receive ethics and Hatch Act training before deploying to disasters, DSA policies and procedures did not require crews to explain why they skipped homes, and DSA crew leaders were not required to conduct quality control reviews of survivor interactions.”

FEMA routinely failed to provide Hatch Act or ethics training to crew personnel, the DHS OIG concluded, noting that the majority (15 of 25 crew leaders and members) of the DSA crew that skipped the houses of Trump supporters did not receive the appropriate training. Random reviews of other crews and crewmembers similarly found that most did not receive Hatch Act or ethics training.

After the controversy in 2024 resulted in Washington being fired, she said that the directive to skip the homes of Trump supporters did not originate with her, but came from higher-ups. “They all alleged that these actions were made on my own recognizance and from my own political advances,” she said in a 2024 interview. However, she charged her own supervisor, Chad Hershey, with crafting the directive.

Washington also alleged that the policy of avoiding Trump supporters was not isolated to her team. 

“This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas,” she said. “Senior leadership will lie to you and say that they do not know, but if you ask the DSA crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field … demand for FEMA to give you those incident reports.”

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Following the publication of the OIG report, DHS confirmed that at least three FEMA employees have been fired, in addition to those previously fired in relation to the failure.

Current FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton faulted former president Joe Biden and his administration for targeting Trump supporters. “Under President Trump, political bias has no place at FEMA,” he said, adding that survivor outreach programs and protocols have been revised and more stringent training implemented. “Under my watch, all parties involved in this situation have been held accountable. Political bias has no room in public service.”

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin likewise pledged to keep political bias out of agency activity. “Our job is to protect the American people, regardless of their political beliefs. This is especially important when it comes to disaster relief, where every second counts and lives are on the line,” he said.

“The blatant abuse of power seen at FEMA under the Biden Administration was unacceptable, inhumane, and un-American,” Mullin continued. “We’ve made sure that everyone responsible for this incident has been punished, and we’ll make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. The Trump Administration will always put the safety of the American people first.”