In the wake of reports that a FEMA supervisor allegedly directed relief workers to avoid homes displaying signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump, Florida Representative Byron Donalds has voiced strong opinions about FEMA’s future, suggesting that the agency should be taken out of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and instead report directly to the White House.
This controversy started with reporting from The Daily Wire, which uncovered that Marn’i Washington, a supervisor with FEMA, allegedly instructed federal workers in Lake Placid, Florida, to bypass homes with Trump signs while identifying residents in need of assistance following Hurricane Milton.
Once the allegations came to light, FEMA quickly fired Washington and expressed dismay over the situation, stating, “We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct the situation.” Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has since launched an investigation, aiming to uncover how such instructions were allowed within the agency.
WATCH: @ByronDonalds lays out the Republican agenda, as President-elect Trump prepares for his return to the White House. pic.twitter.com/1wRqGuVpbg
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 10, 2024
Discussing the issue on Fox News Sunday, anchor Shannon Bream questioned Donalds on what should happen next. Donalds didn’t hold back, insisting that anyone involved should be fired immediately and emphasizing that there should be no tolerance for political bias in federal disaster relief.
“We are not going to have a country where we’re going to decide who gets help and … who doesn’t based upon who you support politically or what you look like or anything else,” he said firmly. For Donalds, this situation reflects broader issues with FEMA’s organizational structure within DHS, which he argues complicates and slows the agency’s disaster response.
Founded in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, FEMA was originally tasked with civil defense and emergency management and then became part of DHS in 2001, after the 9/11 attacks. But now, Donalds says it’s time for a structural change.
“When it comes to FEMA, my recommendation for the Trump transition team is that FEMA becomes a standalone agency that directly reports to the White House. You have to get it out of Homeland Security,” he asserted, describing DHS as “a massive labyrinth” that creates inefficiencies for FEMA.
Donalds cited his own experience with FEMA’s response during Hurricane Ian, recounting the difficulty his district faced in receiving timely answers and assistance.
According to him, governors across the country would likely support the idea of FEMA being more directly accountable to the president. “FEMA should be a direct-report agency to the White House because when disaster recovery needs to take place, we need quick answers out of FEMA, not bureaucratic ones that go through the labyrinth of federal departments,” Donalds stated, emphasizing that disaster response should be among the president’s highest priorities.