Governor Ron DeSantis has thrown down the gauntlet, demanding accountability from FEMA and the Biden administration after shocking reports that certain Floridians were denied disaster relief based on their political beliefs.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Wire, DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s (FDEM) executive director, Kevin Guthrie, insist on immediate action to preserve all records and communications tied to FEMA’s actions following Hurricane Milton. This comes on the heels of allegations that a FEMA supervisor, now removed, ordered workers to skip homes displaying Trump signs and flags in Lake Placid, Florida, leaving residents high and dry in the wake of a natural disaster.
This kind of partisan discrimination, if proven, is a disturbing misuse of federal power. Disaster relief, especially in the aftermath of a major hurricane, isn’t supposed to hinge on which candidate you supported in the last election. Yet here we are, with eyewitness accounts and internal FEMA communications reportedly confirming that workers were told to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” When volunteers signed up to help, they thought they were there to bring aid, not to pass judgment on who’s worthy based on yard signs.
FEMA Manager Marn’i Washington has finally been fired for telling workers to discriminate against Trump voters.
She should be behind bars. pic.twitter.com/goH3RzEWmO
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 9, 2024
In his letter to FEMA and the White House, Guthrie emphasized what should be a basic expectation in any government response: impartiality. “It is essential that the Agency’s actions be fair, impartial, and focused on the needs of those affected, notwithstanding their political beliefs,” he wrote. FEMA’s credibility is on the line here, and Guthrie’s point couldn’t be more clear: turning disaster relief into a political exercise isn’t just unfair—it’s un-American. Floridians don’t deserve to be left out in the cold (or, more accurately, the sweltering aftermath of a hurricane) because of a federal employee’s personal politics.
The response from FEMA was swift, though it’s not clear yet if it will be enough to satisfy Florida’s leadership or the public. FEMA acknowledged that it’s “deeply disturbed” by these revelations, characterizing the incident as an isolated act by a rogue employee. The agency claims that the supervisor who issued the directive lacked the authority to make such a call, and it says it is now working to reach those who were skipped. That’s all well and good, but for those who went days—or even weeks—without relief, this statement feels a little hollow. FEMA’s acknowledgment doesn’t undo the damage caused, nor does it erase the message that was sent: some Americans are more “deserving” of federal aid than others.
Fired: The FEMA supervisor, accused of ordering her subordinates to bypass homes with Trump campaign signs in Florida, has been fired! Marn’i Washington was sacked for telling disaster relief workers knocking on doors in Lake Placid, Fl, to “avoid homes advertising Trump!” pic.twitter.com/YNqtz2nifK
— John Cremeans USA (@JohnCremeansUSA) November 9, 2024
“I know they’re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,” one of the employees stated to The Daily Wire. “When we got there, we were told to discriminate against people. It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay.”
“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee continued. “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.”
The larger concern here is whether this was, indeed, an “isolated” incident or the symptom of a deeper problem in FEMA’s operations. DeSantis’s office has requested all communications from FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal entities to investigate if this goes beyond one rogue employee. After all, it’s hard to imagine this incident slipping through the cracks without some level of oversight or awareness from higher-ups. And now, the Biden administration finds itself facing questions about whether political discrimination has any place in government agencies—and what it plans to do to prevent it from happening again.
The disturbing reports of selective assistance beg another question: what does this say about trust in our federal institutions? When an agency like FEMA, which exists solely to help Americans in times of crisis, is accused of playing politics, it sends a chilling message to the entire nation. The Biden administration and FEMA need to recognize the gravity of these allegations and prove to the public that relief efforts are guided by fairness and compassion—not partisan allegiance.
For DeSantis, standing up to FEMA isn’t just about securing answers; it’s about defending Floridians who should never have been left in the lurch. It’s about restoring faith that, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, you have an equal claim to federal assistance in your time of need. Whether FEMA’s actions were a fluke or a symptom of something worse, one thing is clear: any hint of bias in disaster relief can’t just be swept under the rug.
