DHS investigation confirms FEMA left Trump supporters to fend for themselves after hurricane

Biden-era federal employees purposely ignored some Trump voters amid Hurricane Milton disaster response, according to a new Department of Homeland Security report.

The DHS’ Office of Inspector General found that at least 11 homes were passed over by disaster survivor assistance teams because they displayed pro-Trump signs. The OIG was stymied in a broader investigation of alleged anti-Trump supporter bias in other disaster responses because former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem failed to approve a contract that covered the maintenance of relevant records in a timely manner.

‘Did not visit due to Trump flag.’

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“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,” the OIG report stated.

The report noted that Marn’i Washington, a DSA team leader, was charged with two Hatch Act violations in 2025 for instructing her team to avoid Trump supporters amid Hurricane Milton response. Washington engaged in political activity while on duty and used official authority to interfere with an election, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

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“It just so happened that, unfortunately, most of the hostile encounters, those running trends, did have those [Trump] campaign signs,” Washington said.

No public decision has been disclosed in OSC’s case against Washington.

“The first instance of a note indicating a DSA crew skipped a home due to political signage occurred on October 19, 2024. A subsequent note on October 22 stated, ‘did not visit due to Trump flag.’ Nine additional notes concerning political signage followed,’” the OIG report noted regarding Washington’s crew.

Unfortunately, the OIG was unable to determine just how many crews followed Washington’s anti-Trump lead. The Field Assessment and Collection Tools used to document government interactions with civilian survivors became unavailable to investigators after Noem ignored requests to provide funding.

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“FEMA exported and retained all survivor assistance data, but only in a non-readable format that cannot be searched or analyzed unless FEMA procures a new system to restore access,” a source familiar with the data told Blaze News. “DSA crews conducted their work using electronic tablets connected to this system and did not use paper notes, so there are no hard-copy records to review.”

If the contract was renewed and the system remained active, the DHS investigators planned to review more natural disaster responses to see whether other DSA crews skipped homes that displayed Trump signs.

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“This situation eroded public trust in FEMA’s ability to treat everyone impartially, offer unbiased and consistent assistance, and ensure equal access to resources and tools,” the report reads.

We may never know just how many Trump-supporting Americans were abandoned by the government officials responsible for helping them.

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FEMA and the DHS did not respond to requests for comment. Washington could not be reached for comment. Noem could not be reached through the State Department or her lawyer of record.

(*) Full article: https://www.theblaze.com/news/fema-trump-biden-hurricane-noem