Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell told Congress on Tuesday that she will request an investigation from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general after the agency terminated an employee for withholding services to hurricane victims for political reasons.
Criswell’s declaration came during testimony before a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing, her first of two congressional hearings on Tuesday, where she directly addressed claims made by the former employee, Marn’i Washington.
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Criswell said that Washington, who went public with the allegation that FEMA officials had been directed to avoid servicing homes in Florida with yard signs supporting Donald Trump after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, had been acting as an individual and not at the direction of her supervisors.
“This employee wrote to about 11 staffers under her supervision that they should ‘avoid homes advertising Trump.’ My senior leadership team provided me with this visual evidence that the employee had, in fact, issued this statement, these instructions, and they recommended that this employee be terminated. I concurred and directed the termination, and the employee was fired,” she stated.
“I released a statement that day, and I will repeat what I said to all of my employees and the American people: This type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA, and we will hold people accountable if they violate our standards of conduct,” FEMA’s administrator said.
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Since being fired, Washington has claimed that her actions came at the direction of the FEMA higher-ups, telling the Washington Examiner she was a “patsy” made to take the fall for the administration.
Criswell denied those allegations, testifying on Tuesday that the agency’s internal investigation yielded no evidence “of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA.”
Nonetheless, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, pressed Criswell on why she had not specifically requested an investigation from the DHS inspector general.
Ultimately, Criswell conceded, telling Perry she “will request one.”
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You can watch Criswell’s comments in full below.