Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro claimed Tuesday that there was “no evidence” that FEMA discriminated against disaster victims based on political affiliation under President Joe Biden, even though one agency supervisor was fired last year after directing relief workers to skip Trump homes during his administration.
DeLauro made the comments as she questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s plans to bring dramatic reforms to FEMA. DeLauro downplayed the need for changes at FEMA, saying that she had seen little evidence of failure.
“Where is the evidence of the failure of FEMA?” she asked Noem.
“Congresswoman, we still have claims open from Hurricane Katrina. We have fire claims that are still unpaid to people who said they were due them seven to eight to ten years old, that have never been paid by FEMA,” Noem replied. “So one of the worst things that the federal government can do is to stand up in front of the American public and say, ‘We will be there, we will walk alongside you in the most horrible time of your life,’ and then never follow through on that. What the president has said is that he’s sick and tired of federal agencies that pick and choose who wins and who loses.”
DeLauro responded by saying that FEMA’s Office of Professional Responsibility found “no evidence, no direction of agency or field leadership to discriminate against disaster victims based on political affiliation” under Biden, she said, brushing off the fact that FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington was fired in November 2024 after directing supervisors to skip homes “advertising Trump” in Lake Placid, Florida.
Noem told DeLauro that she would provide her with evidence of the agency’s failings.
In February, the Office of Special Counsel announced that Washington had issued the discriminatory directive, confirming what The Daily Wire had first reported in November 2024. The office recommended that Washington face further disciplinary action over the directive, finding that she had lied about alleged threats facing relief workers in the area.
Just one month later, FEMA fired three more employees as part of the investigation into Washington’s directive. While the agency said that these employees weren’t directly involved, it did say that they were in her supervisory chain.
President Donald Trump cited the incident in an executive order he issued in January, directing the creation of a council to look into getting rid of FEMA and returning control over natural disaster response to the states.
“There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA,” Trump wrote in the executive order. “Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.”
When asked Tuesday what about the administration’s plans for FEMA, Noem said they were looking at shifting power to the states.
“President Trump has been very clear since the beginning that he believes that FEMA and its response, in many, many circumstances, has failed the American people and that FEMA, as it exists today, should be eliminated and empowering states to respond to disasters with federal government support,” she said.
