A Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report has concluded that a Federal Emergency Management Agency crew broke federal law when it skipped homes displaying Trump campaign signs during Hurricane Milton recovery efforts in 2024. The finding, released this week, marks an official determination that the crew's actions violated the Hatch Act and FEMA's own policies.
The incident, which occurred in Florida, involved Disaster Survivor Assistance teams that bypassed 11 residences that showed support for then-candidate Donald Trump. According to the watchdog report, the crew's conduct "eroded public trust in FEMA's ability to treat everyone impartially, offer unbiased and consistent assistance, and ensure equal access to resources and tools."
The report attributes the breach to "weaknesses in FEMA's training, documentation, and oversight," noting that the agency did provide ethics and Hatch Act training to crews before disaster deployments. The Hatch Act restricts federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, including using official authority to influence elections.
The episode became a flashpoint for Republican criticism of the disaster agency, with President Trump at one point calling for FEMA's abolition. He later shifted to advocating for downsizing the agency and limiting federal aid to states. The Office of Special Counsel separately found last year that the same incident violated the Hatch Act, and the IG's office confirmed this new report covers the same matter.
In a formal response included in the report, FEMA Associate Administrator Christopher Logan said the agency has discontinued "FEMA-led door-to-door outreach efforts." Instead, he wrote, "Staff now provide support to survivors from fixed locations determined by state and local officials through a data-informed approach." Logan also stated that after the incident, all Disaster Survivor Assistance crews received mandatory Hatch Act and ethics training.
Michael Coen, who served as FEMA's chief of staff under the Biden administration, defended the agency's response, saying the report "reinforces" that the violations "were not systematic and were isolated." He added, "FEMA took appropriate action when the violations were briefed to senior leadership."
The IG report also noted that investigators could not determine whether crews skipped homes for improper reasons during other disasters because Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not act on FEMA's request to fund the agency's Field Assessment and Collection Tools, which would have enabled broader data collection.
The report arrives amid ongoing accusations that the Trump administration has politicized disaster aid. Politico reported earlier this year that the president approved 23 percent of disaster funding requests from blue states and 89 percent from red states, a disparity that has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats. The issue has become a recurring theme in the broader debate over federal disaster response, with some lawmakers calling for reforms to ensure impartiality. For more on related political controversies, see this legal complaint against a prominent figure and House Democrats' demands on funding.
