Governor Seeks Answers on Whether Tennesseans Were Discriminated Against by FEMA

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in Nashville on Jan. 18, 2021. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in calling for an investigation into claims that some Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers were instructed to avoid the homes of Trump supporters in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton in September and October.

“FEMA exists to serve all Americans, and these actions have eroded the people’s trust by failing to deliver desperately needed relief to all survivors,” Lee said in a post on social media platform X.

In Tennessee, Helene caused widespread damage to homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure in the eastern part of the state, resulting in the deaths of 17 people.

“Americans should never have the government weaponized against them,” Lee said in a follow-up post, adding that he is working with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to determine whether Tennesseans were discriminated against.

According to screenshots of internal messages published by The Daily Wire, a FEMA official instructed relief workers who were identifying residents eligible for federal aid in Lake Placid, both orally and via internal messages, that it was best practice to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”

One image shows that a relief worker uploaded a photo of a property with a Trump flag with a note stating, “Trump sign no entry per leadership.” Other notes stated, “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” “Trump sign,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”

Lee said that he looks “forward to President Trump taking swift action to remove partisan bureaucrats when he takes office.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also commented on the reports, saying in a post on X: “FEMA’s mission is ‘to help people before, during, and after disasters.’ Under Biden and Harris, it turns out you only get help if you’re a Democrat voter. This bias ends in January.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) referred to the reports as “monstrous” in a post on X.

FEMA relief workers reportedly avoided at least 20 homes starting in late October in a district that voted 70 percent for Trump. The Epoch Times has not independently verified these claims.

DeSantis said on Nov. 9 that he had directed Florida’s Division of Emergency Management to look into “the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.”

FEMA did not respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times before publication.

A spokesperson for the agency told The Daily Wire that the supervisor who sent the messages, Marn’i Washington, is not actively working for the agency pending an investigation. The agency said it was horrified and deeply disturbed by Washington’s actions.

“While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Washington didn’t have the authority to tell relief workers to avoid the homes of Trump supporters, the spokesperson said. The agency said it is taking the matter very seriously and is contacting the residents who may have been overlooked to remedy the situation.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.