A federal watchdog has confirmed that FEMA personnel broke federal law and violated agency policy when they deliberately bypassed Florida homes displaying signs supporting President Donald Trump following Hurricane Milton.
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that a Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Survivor Assistance crew skipped 11 homes because of political signage supporting then-presidential candidate Trump.
The crew’s conduct violated FEMA policy and the Hatch Act, according to the watchdog’s newly released report, titled “FEMA Disaster Response Crew Violated Law and Policy by Skipping Homes with Political Signage.”
Americans whose homes had just been battered by a devastating hurricane were denied face-to-face assistance from federal workers because they dared to display their support for Donald Trump.
The inspector general concluded that the partisan decision “eroded public trust” in FEMA’s obligation to provide impartial and consistent assistance to disaster victims.
FEMA workers canvassed 744,288 properties following Hurricanes Helene and Milton but recorded no contact at 555,374 locations for reasons that included safety concerns and private-property restrictions.
However, records reviewed by investigators specifically showed that the Lake Placid crew bypassed 11 homes because of Trump campaign signs.
The watchdog blamed serious failures in FEMA’s “training, documentation, and oversight.”
That is the polite, bureaucratic way of saying Biden’s FEMA treated MAGA households like the enemy while they were still digging out from a Category 3 hurricane.
The report confirms what whistleblowers exposed nearly two years ago.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, internal messages revealed that FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington instructed relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
Workers reportedly entered notes stating, “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”
Washington was later fired, but she insisted that the practice was not isolated and claimed FEMA personnel had been taught to avoid potentially hostile encounters.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel subsequently filed a Hatch Act complaint against Washington. Its investigation determined that she repeatedly instructed subordinates not to visit properties displaying Trump campaign signs and used her official authority to interfere with or affect an election.
The Gateway Pundit also reported in March 2025 that FEMA fired three additional supervisors after an internal investigation concluded that they failed to uphold the agency’s standards or stop the discriminatory conduct.
Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell repeatedly characterized the scandal as the work of a “rogue employee” and denied that political discrimination represented a systemic policy within the agency.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer blasted the blatant discrimination following the report’s release.
“Political discrimination has no place in the administration of disaster relief,” Comer said in a statement Tuesday.
“The House Oversight Committee exposed how during the Biden Administration several FEMA employees violated the law by withholding disaster relief from homes displaying signs supporting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump,” Comer continued.
“Those responsible have since been fired, and today’s Inspector General report confirms that they acted illegally and violated FEMA policy.”
FEMA accepted the inspector general’s recommendations and said it strengthened training and oversight following the scandal. The agency also said it no longer conducts FEMA-led door-to-door outreach, instead providing assistance from fixed locations selected with state and local officials.
But no amount of bureaucratic training can erase what happened.
Federal employees saw Americans suffering after a catastrophic hurricane, noticed Trump signs outside their homes, and decided those families were unworthy of government assistance.
