In late 2024, two major hurricanes, Helene and Milton, devastated parts of the southeastern United States, including Florida. Hurricane Helene struck in late September, followed by Hurricane Milton in early October. FEMA, tasked with providing disaster relief, deployed workers to assist affected communities. Amid these efforts, a report emerged alleging that FEMA employees were instructed to bypass homes displaying pro-Trump signs, sparking widespread outrage and accusations of political discrimination.

The claim first surfaced in an exclusive November 8, 2024, article by The Daily Wire, a conservative news outlet, which cited internal correspondence and statements from federal employees. The story gained traction on social media and was amplified by political figures, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and President-elect Donald Trump’s allies, leading to calls for investigations and even defunding FEMA.

Evidence Supporting the Claim

• Initial Reporting by The Daily Wire
The Daily Wire reported that Marn’i Washington, a FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) crew leader in Highlands County, Florida, instructed her team to “avoid homes advertising Trump” while canvassing Lake Placid after Hurricane Milton. The directive was allegedly issued verbally on October 22, 2024, and reiterated in a Microsoft Teams chat on October 27. Workers logged entries in FEMA’s system such as “Trump sign no entry per leadership,” indicating they skipped at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags between late October and early November. The outlet provided screenshots of these logs and a leadership flowchart identifying Washington as the supervisor (The Daily Wire, November 8, 2024).







The Daily Wire reporting also included an image of the Microsoft Teams chat used by FEMA workers. We were unable to independently verify this particular image.




• FEMA’s Confirmation
On November 9, 2024, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell confirmed that an employee had directed her team to avoid homes with Trump signs. Criswell called the action “reprehensible” and a “clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.” She announced the employee’s termination and referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for further investigation (FEMA Statement, November 9, 2024).


• Federal Investigation Findings
On February 11, 2025, the OSC released a report confirming that Washington, as supervisor of Crew 33, ordered at least five FEMA employees to skip homes with Trump signs in Florida after Hurricane Milton. The OSC found this violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their authority to influence elections. The report recommended further discipline beyond Washington’s firing, substantiating that the incident occurred (Washington Times, February 11, 2025).

Additional Context

It’s important to note that FEMA quickly fired this crew leader (on November 9th) after taking her off the ground on November 7th, and that the crew leader’s actions are not necessarily the policy (stated or unstated) of FEMA in general or of senior leadership of FEMA.

In an interview with journalist Roland Martin, Washington claimed her crew instructions were aligned with FEMA’s “avoidance first, then de-escalation” protocol used to protect workers from hostile encounters. She alleged similar practices occurred in North and South Carolina and were not unique to Trump-supporting homes, citing past instances where homes with Harris signs or no political signs were skipped due to aggression. However, she provided no documentation, and FEMA has not corroborated this broader claim.