Well, well, well—looks like we’ve got yet another case of partisan politics creeping into disaster relief, and this time, it cost a FEMA supervisor her job.
Marn’i Washington, a former FEMA official, is now facing disciplinary action after a federal investigation found she lied about her instructions to relief workers in Florida, telling them to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” And the kicker? Her supposed justification—that Trump supporters posed a safety threat to FEMA workers—was completely fabricated.
According to a complaint filed by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Washington's orders resulted in relief workers skipping over 20 homes in Lake Placid, Florida, in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. The OSC determined that Washington’s excuse—that she was acting out of concern for worker safety—was a blatant lie.
At the time she issued the directive, her team hadn’t even started canvassing the area. No threats had been reported. No safety concerns had been raised. This was pure, unfiltered political discrimination.
And make no mistake, this wasn’t some offhand comment—Washington’s guidance to steer clear of Trump-supporting homes wasn’t a one-time slip-up. The OSC complaint reveals that she repeated the directive multiple times over several days, from October 22 through October 26. Five separate FEMA workers confirmed that they were told to avoid homes with Trump signs for an entire week.
When FEMA finally caught wind of the allegations, Washington did what any bureaucrat caught red-handed would do—she denied everything. In an email to FEMA officials, she insisted that her team had only skipped properties where signs threatened violence, such as "shoot on sight" warnings. But the OSC wasn’t buying it. They found zero documented threats against FEMA workers in Highlands County and no reports in Washington’s daily FEMA briefings mentioning concerns about Trump signs.
For her actions, Washington now faces two Hatch Act violations—one for engaging in political activity while on duty and another for using her official position to interfere with an election. She was ultimately fired from FEMA on November 9, one day after The Daily Wire published whistleblower testimony exposing her misconduct.
So, let’s break this down. A FEMA official, working under the guise of disaster relief, instructed her team to deny aid to American citizens based on their political beliefs. Then, when caught, she lied about it. That’s not just unethical—it’s an abuse of power.
It’s the very definition of election interference. And, most disturbingly, it’s a glimpse into the kind of partisan rot that has infected government agencies that are supposed to serve all Americans, not just the ones who check the "approved" political boxes.