Fired FEMA Leader Defends Skipping 20 Homes After Milton as Report Says Trump-Sign Avoidance Broke Law
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 26
Fired FEMA Leader Defends Skipping 20 Homes After Milton as Report Says Trump-Sign Avoidance Broke Law
2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 26
Summary
Marni Washington said her FEMA team skipped 20 Florida homes after Hurricane Milton for worker safety, arguing they avoided properties showing both Trump signs and other signs of hostility.
An inspector general report issued Tuesday found FEMA's decision to avoid nearly a dozen homes with Trump campaign signs violated federal law and agency policy.
Washington said crews still visited 1,100 homes and faced threats across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, including residents confronting staff and one Georgia route marked by mannequins hanging from nooses.
A late-October 2024 text Washington shared with The Washington Post showed her telling a supervisor a street was "politically hostile," drawing the reply: "Great decision."
Washington, fired two years ago, is under federal Hatch Act investigation and is suing a FEMA contractor for defamation and wrongful termination.