The DHS has said that following an extensive review, individuals who “failed to meet FEMA’s standards of conduct were terminated."
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A report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General has exposed political bias within the Biden-era Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that saw homes in Florida skipped over in the wake of Hurricane Milton due to pro-Trump signs. The DHS has said that following an extensive review, individuals who “failed to meet FEMA’s standards of conduct were terminated,” and that “disaster aid is no longer politicized” under Trump.
An audit of FEMA conducted by the OIG found that a FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) crew skipped 11 homes in total during the Milton response due to pro-Trump signs, violating FEMA policy and the Hatch Act.
The report stated that the issues occurred “due to weaknesses in FEMA’s training, documentation, and oversight.” FEMA DSA crews had not received ethics and Hatch Act training before deploying to disaster zones, policies and procedures did not require DSA teams to explain why they skipped the homes, and DSA crew leaders were not required to conduct quality control reviews of interactions with survivors.
The report states that there are five approved reasons to avoid a home: no trespassing signs, no soliciting signs, private property signs, climbing on or over debris, and the displaying of purple paint, which signifies no trespassing. For the 11 instances flagged by the audit, 8 homes were flagged as being not able to access the property, 2 were listed as being private property, and one was listed as being a “no answer/left flyer.”
“However, in 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 listed four recommendations for Associate Administrator of the FEMA Office of Response and Recovery: that it assess policies and determine the “appropriate frequency of ethics and Hatch Act training for all FEMA staff who are subject to deployment”; that it implement a way to ensure that all personnel, before deploying, are knowledgeable about ethics and the Hatch Act before deployment; that it implement a system for documenting survivor interactions; and that policies be updated to require DSA crews to use “a standardized method to document whether locations were skipped and the reasons for skipping homes” and DSA leaders “conduct quality control reviews of survivor interaction survey questions and include the outcome of those reviews in their summary reports.”
The OIG report found that FEMA was taking “responsive” or “partially responsive” actions on all four recommendations.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement, “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. The blatant abuse of power seen at FEMA under the Biden Administration was unacceptable, inhumane, and un-American. 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.”
FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton said, “What happened under the Biden Administration was unacceptable. Under President Trump, political bias has no place at FEMA. Thanks to President Trump, FEMA has been empowered to hold accountable those who are responsible and has changed how it conducts survivor outreach to ensure Americans are treated fairly and assistance is driven by need. Under my watch, all parties involved in this situation have been held accountable. Political bias has no room in public service.”
An audit of FEMA conducted by the OIG found that a FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) crew skipped 11 homes in total during the Milton response due to pro-Trump signs, violating FEMA policy and the Hatch Act.
The report stated that the issues occurred “due to weaknesses in FEMA’s training, documentation, and oversight.” FEMA DSA crews had not received ethics and Hatch Act training before deploying to disaster zones, policies and procedures did not require DSA teams to explain why they skipped the homes, and DSA crew leaders were not required to conduct quality control reviews of interactions with survivors.
The report states that there are five approved reasons to avoid a home: no trespassing signs, no soliciting signs, private property signs, climbing on or over debris, and the displaying of purple paint, which signifies no trespassing. For the 11 instances flagged by the audit, 8 homes were flagged as being not able to access the property, 2 were listed as being private property, and one was listed as being a “no answer/left flyer.”
“However, in 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 listed four recommendations for Associate Administrator of the FEMA Office of Response and Recovery: that it assess policies and determine the “appropriate frequency of ethics and Hatch Act training for all FEMA staff who are subject to deployment”; that it implement a way to ensure that all personnel, before deploying, are knowledgeable about ethics and the Hatch Act before deployment; that it implement a system for documenting survivor interactions; and that policies be updated to require DSA crews to use “a standardized method to document whether locations were skipped and the reasons for skipping homes” and DSA leaders “conduct quality control reviews of survivor interaction survey questions and include the outcome of those reviews in their summary reports.”
The OIG report found that FEMA was taking “responsive” or “partially responsive” actions on all four recommendations.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement, “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. The blatant abuse of power seen at FEMA under the Biden Administration was unacceptable, inhumane, and un-American. 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.”
FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton said, “What happened under the Biden Administration was unacceptable. Under President Trump, political bias has no place at FEMA. Thanks to President Trump, FEMA has been empowered to hold accountable those who are responsible and has changed how it conducts survivor outreach to ensure Americans are treated fairly and assistance is driven by need. Under my watch, all parties involved in this situation have been held accountable. Political bias has no room in public service.”
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