If you suspected that hurricane relief was being distributed, at least partly, using political considerations, you turned out to be right. 

It's impossible to say how widespread the practice was, but we now know for certain that in at least one county, FEMA workers were directed to avoid helping people who had Trump signs or other indications that they supported the former president. 

Whistleblowers say that relief workers were told it was "best practice" to pass over houses "advertising Trump."

The workers would enter into the system that they made no contact with the residents, blaming the directive: "Trump sign, no contact per leadership" pic.twitter.com/1b0uL7pSDy

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 8, 2024

LATEST UPDATE: https://t.co/hZeJhZursE

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 8, 2024

If you are shocked, amazed, or otherwise surprised, you shouldn't be. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security and thus run by Alejandro Mayorkas, one of the most evil men to have taken a high-ranking position in government. There is no level of contempt one can have that matches what one should feel for this disgusting little man. 

A federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump’s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by multiple federal employees. 

A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire. 

The government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”

It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country. The employees were part of a Department of Homeland Security surge capacity force team, meaning they volunteered from other DHS agencies to help an understaffed FEMA as it dealt with a second major hurricane in a span of just a few weeks.

The original directives were, of course, deleted by the supervisor but were captured in screenshots by whistleblowers and passed on to the Daily Wire. 

In the weeks after the hurricanes battered Republican states, the Pravda media dutifully reported that any sense that FEMA was manipulating relief efforts based on political considerations was "disinformation." Obviously, as with so many claims of disinformation, it turned out to be wholly true. 

The guidance came as the Biden administration was criticized over its sluggish response to Hurricane Helene in rural areas across the country. In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, locals told The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up. The town is located in Carter County, which voted 81% for Trump on Tuesday. 

The FEMA agents ordered not to help houses with Trump signs were operating in Highlands County, a deep-red area located in south central Florida that backed Trump by 70% on Tuesday. It was hit with tornadoes, torrential wind and rain, and flooding when Milton hit in October. 

In the chat, Washington said that it would be “best practice” to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” according to photos of the messages viewed by The Daily Wire. No explanation was given for this guidance, which included other recommendations like telling the workers to “practice de-escalation and preventative measures,” and to “avoid high salt diets and coffee.”

Photos from the system used by federal relief workers to track what homes they visit showed that relief workers followed Washington’s guidance. Several addresses were marked “not able to access property” with listed explanations such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership,” “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” “Trump sign,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”

We can't say for sure that this was or was not an isolated incident, but the evidence is clear that Homeland Security has been thoroughly politicized and run by conscience-free bureaucrats at the top. I suspect that many aspects of the relief effort were politically influenced--and I expect more proof of that will trickle out over time. This incident was successfully hidden for weeks. 

Of course, your average FEMA worker is not a monster bent on destroying his fellow citizens in a different political party. That is not how most people are; but bureaucracies are machines that turn people into cogs, and the records show that people followed orders. I suspect many did the right thing despite orders and applaud the whistleblowers who came forward, but the truth is that leadership matters, and most people will do what they are told. 

I fear that much has been hidden about the devastation caused by Helene. I simply do not believe that the full death toll has been revealed. The divergence between the official numbers and the anecdotes is so large that I suspect that the deaths of many have been hidden. The news media has been remarkably incurious about the relief efforts compared to previous disasters of this scale. 

I hope I am wrong about that, but by now we are suckers if we take anything told us at face value.