Within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) finds itself within the crosshairs of a number of whistleblower complaints and mounting accusations of gross mismanagement.
Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has taken to X to name out FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, demanding her resignation and promising a brutal grilling earlier than the Oversight Committee.
In accordance with Greene, Criswell will face “worse than the total Kimberly Cheatle remedy” for FEMA’s failures.
On Friday, Elon Musk joined the chorus of voices slamming FEMA’s mishandling of reduction efforts.
In a sequence of explosive posts on X, Musk accused FEMA of obstructing non-public humanitarian support, blocking SpaceX engineers from delivering crucial Starlink terminals and provides to devastated areas in North Carolina.
Musk revealed that his workforce, which had already arrange working bases to assist ship lifesaving sources, was actively blocked by FEMA.
In accordance with Musk, greater than 300 Starlink terminals had been deployed to revive communication, however FEMA was impeding progress at each flip.
Certainly one of Musk’s engineers shared a disturbing account:
“It’s true. They’re now about to close down the Air house to ‘regulate’ the non-public choppers we’re driving in to ship Starlink and provides. We’re pushing again with Trump workforce as nicely to assist us, however not trying good.
We want assist to get phrase out about FEMA, we spoke with Ivanka and handed out Starlinks together with her yesterday, however FEMA then confirmed up and began blocking us.
The most important concern for us right here is the FAA throttling flights for our choppers, the place they’re requiring To/from data and mission now to ship a discrete code. Doing this takes a very long time and really cumbersome to the ops. That is the most important concern and most assist we might use.”
This isn’t the primary occasion of FEMA’s obvious incompetence. Multiple whistleblowers have come forward to reveal the company’s failure to problem deployment orders to first responders, leaving Individuals stranded and with out assist.
In a bombshell letter despatched by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whistleblowers claimed that FEMA withheld essential pre-disaster funds and left “lots of if not hundreds” of service members and first responders idle as Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern U.S.
“As reported and additional confirmed by my workplace, lots of, if not hundreds of service members have been deployed by the Division of Protection to North Carolina and have sat idle, ready for FEMA,” Gaetz mentioned within the letter.
“We’ve confirmed FEMA staff deployed, on the clock, awaiting orders in resorts. FEMA pre-disaster support was withheld, exacerbating the emergency. It is usually public that NGOs have bought airline tickets for migrants via the usage of FEMA funds,” he added.
Whereas Individuals endure within the wake of this catastrophe, FEMA’s credibility has hit all-time low.
Regardless of Congress approving a $20 billion emergency bundle on September 25 as a part of a short lived spending invoice to maintain the federal government funded via December 20, Mayorkas introduced on Wednesday that “FEMA doesn’t have adequate funds to make it via the season.”
In accordance with whistleblowers, FEMA is diverting sources to accommodate unlawful immigrants and canopy the prices of the Biden administration’s border enforcement failures beneath the Shelter and Companies Program of FEMA.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has demanded that FEMA Director Deanne Criswell resign. In a fiery publish, she declared, “FEMA Director Deanne Criswell might be coming earlier than the Oversight Committee and can obtain the total Kimberly Cheatle remedy. In all probability worse. FEMA is confiscating provides, blocking assist to Helene survivors, and utilizing catastrophe reduction funds to accommodate illegals. Resign, Deanne.”
FEMA Director Deanne Criswell might be coming earlier than the Oversight Committee and can obtain the total Kimberly Cheatle remedy.
In all probability worse.
FEMA is confiscating provides, blocking assist to Helene survivors, and utilizing catastrophe reduction funds to accommodate illegals.
Resign Deanne. https://t.co/v9s7h85s5T pic.twitter.com/1YF2Px9yVm
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) October 4, 2024
Earlier this 12 months, Criswell, who oversaw the botched response to the tragedies in East Palestine, Ohio, and Maui, Hawaii, confronted questioning earlier than the Home Transportation & Infrastructure Committee concerning FEMA’s increasing position in addressing non-traditional disasters, together with pandemics and the migrant disaster on the US-Mexico border.
The listening to highlighted issues about FEMA’s capability to handle its core mission amidst these new duties, the potential for fraud and waste in FEMA applications, and the company’s staffing scarcity.
FEMA has obligated over $150 billion for COVID-19 response, and the DHS Inspector Basic has recognized billions in fraud and improper funds.
FEMA has a major staffing scarcity, which the Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) discovered to be a 65% operational capability hole.
