FEMA head claims employee who directed workers to ‘bypass’ homes with Trump signs does not represent agency at large

Deanne Criswell claimed that the actions of the worker who sent messages via text and on a government site to avoid the homes were not indictative of the agency at large. This is contrary to what the worker, Marn'i Washington, said after she was fired from the agency over the incident. Washington has claimed that this was a systemic policy that has gone on in the agency and that it was due .

During her opening statement, FEMA head Deanne Criswell claimed, "I do not believe that this employee's actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA."

Criswell claimed that the behavior is "not tolerated" at the agency and that people will be held "accountable" anything like this should happen again.

Congressman and Transportaion Chair Scott Perry (R-PA) questioned Criswell about Washington's allegations that the agency's neglect of Trump-supporting homes has also happened in North Carolina and elsewhere.

"There is nothing in our policies and our procedures, in our training, that would direct any employee to bypass anybody's home based on their political party," Criswell said, before and adding that the employee was fired just days after the expose on Washington was released by The Daily Wire on Nov. 8. The FEMA head she became aware of the situation on Nov. 7, but Washington was not fired until Nov. 9.

She added that previous to her knowledge, the issue with Washington was raised to the Office of Professional Responsibility on October 28 and was then taken to the Office of the Special Cousel and was then under "ongoing investigation."

Perry noted that Washington claimed that it was her supervisors who told her told skip over the homes with the Trump signs. Criswell said that FEMA found "no information - at this point - that there was anything beyond her direction to her employees to skip and bypass the home."

In an interview with Fox News, Washington had said, "When I first reported to Florida, I was already on another team. I was there as a specialist. This was the culture. They were already avoiding these homes based on community trends from hostile political encounters. It has nothing to do with the campaign sign, it just so happened to be part of a community trend."

Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) pressed Criswell on matters of funding going from FEMA to American citizens versus the amount going to illegal immigrants coming into the country. Graves asked the FEMA head why victims of the hurricanes would get assistance of $750 if they were American citizens but illegal immigrants would be able to, from his calculations, get over $10,000 in assistance from FEMA.

Criswell responded that the $750 are just to cover "immediate needs" but that Americans can get more help from FEMA if they are eligible. However, Graves pushed back and said that right now there is a disparity with victims in North Carolina that need help after Hurricane Helene, but that someone who has come to the country illegally "can get a plane ticket paid for, they can get a hotel room paid for," Graves added.