Photo: Alamy
A recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation confirmed that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees systematically discriminated against disaster survivors who displayed signs that supported President Donald Trump during the Biden administration’s reign.
The 22-page report focused on evidence of such incidents after Hurricane Milton in Florida. This found that “FEMA violated an explicit prohibition in the Privacy Act of 1974 by collecting and maintaining information about individuals’ political beliefs.” The report also found that FEMA hid this information, which further violated the transparency and accountability clauses of the Privacy Act of 1974.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted about the situation on X, stating, “The federal government was withholding aid against Americans in crisis based on their political beliefs—this should horrify every American, regardless of political persuasion.”
“For years, FEMA employees under the Biden Administration intentionally delayed much-needed aid to Americans suffering from natural disasters on purely political grounds,” she went on. “They deliberately avoided houses displaying support for President Trump and the Second Amendment, illegally collected and stored information about survivors’ political beliefs, and failed to report their malicious behavior. We will not let this stand.”
According to the DHS press release, Noem has taken multiple actions. The case has been referred to the Department of Justice and the DHS Inspector General. Door-to-door FEMA surveys have been canceled, and new recommendations and data collection processes have been developed. FEMA is also now subject to rigorous oversight and auditing.
