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Helene & Milton - Political fallout | FEMA steps back
- Thread starter nycfan
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FEMA employee allegedly told Hurricane Milton relief team to skip houses with Trump signs in Florida
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says one of its employees advised her disaster relief team to avoid homes with signs supporting president-elect Donald Trump.
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The event is being investigated, employee in Florida removed from those duties and people are being sent to re-check with homes in area she covered. If the allegations are confirmed, presumably she will be fired and deservedly so.FEMA employee allegedly told Hurricane Milton relief team to skip houses with Trump signs in Florida
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says one of its employees advised her disaster relief team to avoid homes with signs supporting president-elect Donald Trump.www.wbtv.com
ZenMode
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All joking aside, it is truly unfortunate when this we hit this level of polarization and vindictiveness.
FEMA employee fired after advising hurricane relief team not to visit Florida homes with Donald Trump signs
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the incident "reprehensible."
A Federal Emergency Management Agency employee was fired after advising a survivor assistance team not to visit homes with yard signs that support President-elect Donald Trump during Hurricane Milton relief efforts in Florida last month.
In a statement on Saturday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the incident "reprehensible."
"This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation," she said in the statement shared with NBC News.
Criswell said FEMA's more than 22,000 employees are dedicated to helping those affected by disasters.
"I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct," Criswell said, adding that the employee in question was fired and the incident was referred to the Office of Special Counsel.
www.nbcnews.com
FEMA employee fired after advising hurricane relief team not to visit Florida homes with Donald Trump signs
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the incident "reprehensible."
A Federal Emergency Management Agency employee was fired after advising a survivor assistance team not to visit homes with yard signs that support President-elect Donald Trump during Hurricane Milton relief efforts in Florida last month.
In a statement on Saturday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the incident "reprehensible."
"This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation," she said in the statement shared with NBC News.
Criswell said FEMA's more than 22,000 employees are dedicated to helping those affected by disasters.
"I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct," Criswell said, adding that the employee in question was fired and the incident was referred to the Office of Special Counsel.
FEMA employee fired after advising hurricane relief team not to visit Florida homes with Donald Trump signs
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the incident "reprehensible."
www.nbcnews.com
ZenMode
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Fired FEMA worker says agency also avoided pro-Trump homes in Carolinas
Marn’i Washington said on Roland Martin Unfiltered that FEMA extended its policy of avoiding certain situations from Florida to North Carolina in the aftermaths of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
www.wlos.com
Marn’i Washington said on Roland Martin Unfiltered that FEMA extended its policy of avoiding certain situations from Florida to North Carolina in the aftermaths of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Fired FEMA worker says agency also avoided pro-Trump homes in Carolinas
FEMA did not address the claim about the Carolinas when reached for comment, instead pointing to an existing statement.
www.wlos.com
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GIFT LINK —>. https://wapo.st/4fBqj9L
“… Gilmore’s reluctance to seek out federal aid underscores one of the more unusual elements of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in western North Carolina, according to data, experts, residents and FEMA officials.
Only about 15 percent of households in the affected region have applied to the agency for individual and household assistance, according to a Post analysis of months of FEMA data up to the second week of December. It’s a low number, three independent experts and a FEMA official said, given how many people are in need. It’s far less than Georgia and South Carolina, states that sustained comparatively less damage, but where about twice as many households have applied.
Rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories early on about FEMA’s motives and plans inflamed a long-existing skepticism about government here. That, combined with a federal response that has been trying to navigate complex logistics in a region that is not used to big disasters, is threatening people’s chance to get critical help and, ultimately, the state’s ability to rebuild. …”
Some N.C. residents distrust FEMA so much they’re hesitant to apply for hurricane aid
It is one of the more unusual elements of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in western North Carolina.“… Gilmore’s reluctance to seek out federal aid underscores one of the more unusual elements of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in western North Carolina, according to data, experts, residents and FEMA officials.
Only about 15 percent of households in the affected region have applied to the agency for individual and household assistance, according to a Post analysis of months of FEMA data up to the second week of December. It’s a low number, three independent experts and a FEMA official said, given how many people are in need. It’s far less than Georgia and South Carolina, states that sustained comparatively less damage, but where about twice as many households have applied.
Rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories early on about FEMA’s motives and plans inflamed a long-existing skepticism about government here. That, combined with a federal response that has been trying to navigate complex logistics in a region that is not used to big disasters, is threatening people’s chance to get critical help and, ultimately, the state’s ability to rebuild. …”
BlooVooDoo
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“… Asheville is headquarters to the U.S. Forest Service's four national forests in North Carolina — Nantahala, Pisgah, Uwharrie and Croatan. The Nantahala and Pisgah, which cover the rugged, mountainous region of Western North Carolina, are the largest at 1.1 million acres combined, with some 5 million visitors a year. They are considered two of the busiest national forests in the country, with hot spots such as Bent Creek, Shining Rock Wilderness, Looking Glass Falls and Max Patch along the Appalachian Trail.
… But the job losses within the U.S. Forest Service already amount to about 10% of its 35,000-person workforce.
For Western North Carolina, the terminations come less than five months after Tropical Storm ripped through the region, damaging more than 185,000 acres of national forest, about 20% of the total acreage. The storm, which the agency expects will take years to recover from, hit Pisgah National Forest particularly hard, damaging facilities and infrastructure like roadways, as well as downing trees throughout its 500,000 acres, increasing wildfire risk.
… A program manager with the U.S. Forest Service who spoke to the Citizen Times on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from her employer, said the recent firings are a huge strain on the already understaffed agency and pose a major threat to the Helene recovery effort and future wildfire response.
…
“It’s more than just the workload, we’re losing the future of the agency,” she said. “These are bright, talented, young folks who have gone into public service, not for the paycheck but because they want to do good for the world.”
Multiple employees she supervised were terminated in the recent purge, she said. Termination letters, she was told, cited performance as the basis for the firings — falsely she believes, given she conducted the employees' evaluations and no performance issues were noted.
… Many U.S. Forest Service employees fired over the weekend told the Citizen Times that performance was cited in the letters they received, even though they all received good evaluations, they said. Sources familiar with the terminations said nearly 20 people working in the region had been affected so far.
… Due largely to the impacts from Helene, Buncombe County's unemployment rate in December was 6%, the second highest in the state, according to data released by the North Carolina Department of Commerce on Feb. 5. …”
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yeah but think of everything pres musk can do with that extra 1.2 million in salary savings!
donbosco
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Trump administration violated court order by pausing FEMA grants, judge rules
By Nate RaymondApril 4, 20256:53 PM EDT
"A federal judge ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump 's administration violated a court order by halting the disbursement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to states." https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump...by-pausing-fema-grants-judge-says-2025-04-04/
heelinhell
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Trump administration 'covertly' denied FEMA relief money for blue states: judge
A federal judge in Rhode Island accused the Trump administration of "covertly" withholding funds for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief programs from states that didn't vote for him, Courthouse News reported on Friday."In March, U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a...
www.rawstory.com
I’m thinking about numerous recent articles quoting MAGAts in West Virginia (major floods) and North Carolina (Helene) criticizing FEMA for its lack of response.
donbosco
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Trump administration 'covertly' denied FEMA relief money for blue states: judge
A federal judge in Rhode Island accused the Trump administration of "covertly" withholding funds for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief programs from states that didn't vote for him, Courthouse News reported on Friday."In March, U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a...
A friend of mine wrote this in response to this article: "Yes, Madison County has had much of its disaster funding frozen, forcing Madison to pay 250000 a month on loans that were guaranteed by FEMA, but which FEMA is no longer helping with. Meanwhile half of my town of Marshall was swept away and only 6 months into rebuilding we've lost most federal support. The MAGA crowd in Raleigh already vetoed state funds for rebuilding in WNC, which I'm convinced was an act of revenge, since WNC consistently has some of the most liberal voters in the state, (and not just in Boone and Asheville.)"
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Huh? According to this election map, Buncombe and Watauga were the only two blue counties in western NC. Henderson, Transylvania, and Jackson were the only counties west of Charlotte that Trump carried with less than 60% of the vote. The other counties show Trump with 60+% to over 70% of the vote totals. I don't see all those liberal voters in western NC.
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donbosco
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Yeah - my friend lives in the Buncombe bubble. That said, Asheville is pretty much the only place in #WNC that most folks can name these days. And for many of those folks there is a ‘cesspool of sin’ angle of approach (that for the town frankly isn’t that far off the mark).
Mulberry Heel
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This is all setting up nicely for Republicans in DC and NC - they'll cut off funding for western NC recovery but blame Stein for it. And the Trumpers in NC will eat it up. "If only our stupid governor would just kiss Dear Leader's ass all the time and do everything he wanted then this wouldn't be happening!"
MAGAts will blame this on Biden and Stein.