By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-15 19:30:40 | Updated at 2024-11-15 21:32:12
2 hours ago
A FEMA employee claimed she just was taking orders from her superiors when she directed workers providing aid to Hurricane Milton survivors in Florida to skip houses with signs supporting Donald Trump.
Marn'i Washington, who was fired over the controversy, revealed that the directive came from her bosses and that she is taking the fall for the agency's policy to 'avoid homes advertising Trump.'
'Why is this coming down on me?' she said during an interview on Fox News @ Night Wednesday.
'I am just the person that jotted down the notes from my superiors and my notation in [Microsoft] Teams chat was exposed from their search capacity team.'
Earlier this week, Washington accused FEMA of 'lying' about the scandal and making her the scapegoat of a wider practice.
She lost her job after a text chain was leaked that showed her instructing colleagues to 'avoid' houses that had Trump signs in their yards.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said that Washington 'departed' from the agency's core values, violating its principles to 'help people regardless.'
However, while face-to-face with Fox News' Trace Gallagher, Washington insisted that FEMA's claims were utrue, standing firm that such orders came from higher-ups.
Marn'i Washington, who was fired over the controversy, revealed that the directive came from her bosses and that she is taking the fall for the agency's policy to 'avoid homes advertising Trump'
'I am just the person that jotted down the notes from my superiors and my notation in [Microsoft] Teams chat was exposed from their search capacity team,' Washington said
She said that the agency's Florida workers had already been avoiding homes displaying politically charged signs prior to her involvement there.
'This was the culture. They were already avoiding these homes based on community trends from hostile political encounters. It has nothing to do with the campaign sign. It just so happened to be part of the community trend,' Washington explained.
She said that she was scapegoated simply because she got caught.
'It's easy to then say, "Well, ha ha! it's her name. It's her writing. Make her accountable for it." But I'm just simply executing again, what was coming down from my superiors,' she said.
Washington added that she was provided with a list of instructions on the 'best practices' for the agency's successful relief intervention.
The list included directives such as 'not [sic] one goes anywhere alone,' 'communicate and follow the rules,' and avoid homes advertising Trump,' among others.
She also noted that the 'best practices' list was outlined to help ensure worker safety, as well as to avoid employees feeling 'unsafe or uncomfortable.'
Washington said that she was provided with a list of instructions on the 'best practices' for the agency's successful relief intervention. The list included directives such as 'not [ sic ] one goes anywhere alone,' 'communicate and follow the rules,' and avoid homes advertising Trump,' among others
Washington said She said that the agency's Florida workers had already been avoiding homes displaying politically charged signs prior to her involvement there
Washington also worked a full-time job in property management in California, but was fired as a result of the backlash she's received
'I know the highlight here is the Trump campaign signage, but if someone is in another like an urban community and it's a different culture and someone feels uncomfortable, we can't go to that home,' she said.
'If you have loose dogs, and someone on the team was comfortable with dogs and another person is not, we can't go to that home because of safety precautions.'
Since Washington's firing, the Florida General Attorney, Ashley Moody, has filed a federal lawsuit against Criswell and a former FEMA supervisor accusing them of violating the civil rights of Florida residents in the response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The suit, filed on Wednesday, accuses FEMA officials of conspiring to discriminate against Florida's hurricane victims who have noted their support for Trump.
