Donalds Grills FEMA Administrator Criswell on Trump Sign Scandal

The House Oversight Committee held a hearing Tuesday with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell on the controversy surrounding a FEMA employee telling staff to avoid houses with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) had five minutes to question, asking about the agency's supposed "open secret" of political discrimination.

Rep. Donalds began by asking about the firing of Marn'i Washington, the FEMA employee who supposedly issued the order to skip houses with Trump signs.

"She had given multiple interviews where she claimed that avoiding 'politically hostile' homes is commonplace throughout FEMA. Is this a practice at FEMA?" Rep. Donalds asked.

Criswell replied that it was not, and "nothing in any of our policies, our training, or information sent out to our field workers to avoid any home for whatever reason, especially not because of political affiliation."

The Florida Congressman then cited an article from the New York Post in which an anonymous FEMA employee suggested the recent controversy was not new and that white or conservative-dominated areas were avoided by FEMA "for years."

"So [Administrator; Donalds mistakenly referred to Criswell as "Ambassador"], this is a statement given to the Post by an employee at FEMA. What is your response to that statement?" Donalds asked.

"We have investigated this incident, and it is still under investigation," Criswell answered, adding that the agency is working with the Inspector General to determine the truth of the whistleblower's statement and suggested no evidence of political discrimination beyond the current scandal has been shown so far.

As a result, Donalds asked Criswell if she was "prepared to turn over the communiques between your supervisors and their field representatives and upper-level management at FEMA to this committee," to which she answered yes.

"Chairman, I would move that it is very clear that the administrator is more than prepared to share all communications with the Oversight Committee about various communications with field volunteers, volunteer staff, [and] on-the-ground supervisors at FEMA headquarters here in Washington, DC," Donalds concluded.