Federal Emergency Management Agency employee fired after ordering workers to help hurricane survivors not to visit homes displaying signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump, the agency head said in a statement Saturday.
“This is a blatant violation of FEMA’s core values and principles of helping people regardless of political affiliation,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a statement to social media. “It was reprehensible.”
The agency did not identify the employee or say where it happened.
But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling it “targeted discrimination” of Florida residents who support Trump, said it happened in Florida.
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DeSantis said he had ordered the Florida Division of Emergency Management to open an investigation into the matter.
“The blatant militarization of government by partisan activists within the federal bureaucracy is another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said on social media.
“New leadership is on the way in Washington, and I am hopeful that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired,” he said.
There were no details in FEMA’s statement or DeSantis’ comments about the time period or community where the incident occurred. FEMA workers traveled to the state to help residents recover of Hurricane Miltonthat devastated many Florida communities last month.
Criswell said she is committed to holding employees accountable.
“I’m going to continue to do everything I can to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” she said.
