Kennedy demands answers about FEMA employee who denied hurricane assistance to Trump supporters

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today joined Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in demanding answers from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administer Deanne Criswell regarding reports that an employee purposely avoided assisting Hurricane Milton disaster victims because of their political affiliation.

"We are writing today to express our deep concern over recent reports that a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee advised disaster assistance teams in Florida responding to Hurricane Milton to avoid homes that had yard signs supporting President-Elect Donald Trump," the senators wrote.

"For a FEMA employee to withhold aid or support from a household due to political affiliation is unacceptable and frankly reprehensible. While there are many dedicated public servants who are working around the clock to help disaster survivors at their most vulnerable point, it is clear that FEMA has fallen well short of its core mission to provide disaster relief to all Americans impacted by a natural disaster," they continued.

"The idea that citizens, whose tax dollars fund FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund (DFR) and pay FEMA officials' salaries, may be purposely excluded from vitally needed aid is chilling and further erodes many people's already tenuous trust in this administration. . . . We demand answers, accountability, and transparency to hold your agency accountable to the American people and ensure that FEMA employees are providing support to all victims," the senators explained.

The senators are seeking answers from Criswell regarding:

• The number of houses that FEMA bypassed during the agency's Hurricane Milton response,

• when FEMA became aware of the employee's misconduct,

• what steps the agency will take to investigate the claim that FEMA officials told employees to avoid of households based on their political affiliation and

• what laws FEMA believes its employees may have violated.

Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) also signed the letter.

The full letter is available here.