Jim Jordan Tears Into FEMA Director Over Skipping Trump Homes For Disaster Relief [WATCH]

Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio raised concerns during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday, comparing a controversial text message allegedly sent by a former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee to past comments made by disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok.

The text message, reportedly sent by FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance crew leader Marn’i Washington, suggested that FEMA workers avoid homes with Trump signs while conducting disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Jordan directed his questions to FEMA Director Deanne Criswell about the text message, which outlined “best practices” that included avoiding homes where residents displayed support for President-elect Donald Trump.

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The Ohio congressman displayed a screenshot of the text during the hearing, which he argued showed a clear bias against Trump supporters.

“She said it’s common practice, you said it’s reprehensible and isolated. Both statements can’t be true, so someone’s not giving us the facts and I’m trying to figure out who’s not telling the truth,” Jordan told Criswell, who responded that the agency was investigating the matter.

Jordan then pressed Criswell about the possibility that Washington’s actions were influenced by superior officers within FEMA. “Let’s look … maybe the best evidence we have is the actual screenshot. Can you put the screenshot up on the screen? Let’s look at what the text message said,” Jordan said.

“The text message said: implement best practices like — this is the best practices, we’re gonna implement them and they talk about making sure you go in pairs or with more than one person, avoid the Trump homes, drink your water, take your towel, coconut water.”

Jordan continued, “So, stay hydrated, stay with someone else, and don’t go to the Trump homes.

It seems pretty common and matter-of-fact, in the actual evidence we do have, the text message itself. But you’re still saying Ms. Washington and this other person aren’t telling the truth.”

FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, which claimed at least 227 lives, has been scrutinized, especially after the release of the text message.

Jordan pointed out that the tone of the message mirrored similar instances where liberals have belittled Trump supporters.

He referenced Peter Strzok’s disparaging comments about Trump supporters during the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“You know what it sounds like? It sounds like Peter Strzok … when he said ‘I just went into Walmart, I can smell the Trump supporters.’ It sounds like Joe Biden when he said all the ‘garbage’ I see is the Trump supporters out there,” Jordan said. “It sounds like the guy the Democrats had, the professor the Democrats had testify back in 2019 in the impeachment — conservatives, ‘especially very conservative people, tend to spread out,’ perhaps because they ‘don’t even want to be around themselves.’”

Jordan further criticized what he described as a widespread disdain within the government towards Trump supporters. “This disdain, this mindset that’s in the government, where they’re, everyone’s deplorable, everyone’s garbage, everyone is, you know, smelly people at Walmart and oh, be mindful of those people in western North Carolina,” Jordan said. “That’s what it sounds like and again, the best evidence is the text message we have which reinforces that mindset that we have seen from so many people in our government.”

The incident comes at a time when FEMA is under increased scrutiny for its handling of disaster relief efforts in areas affected by major hurricanes.

While the agency continues its investigation, Jordan’s concerns about a possible bias in disaster relief efforts have raised alarm among conservatives, who argue that the message from Washington reflects a deeper issue of political discrimination within federal agencies.

The text message and the subsequent questioning by Rep. Jordan are reminiscent of the 2018 firing of FBI agent Peter Strzok, who was dismissed after it was revealed that he had exchanged text messages with FBI attorney Lisa Page in which they disparaged Trump and his supporters.

Strzok’s comments were widely condemned as inappropriate, and the FBI’s internal investigation found that they undermined the credibility of the agency.

“In my 23 years in the FBI, I have not seen a more impactful series of missteps which called into question the entire organization and more thoroughly damaged the reputation of the entire organization,” then-FBI deputy director David Bowditch wrote in a draft of the termination letter, according to the Washington Examiner.

As FEMA’s investigation continues, the focus on the agency’s response to Trump supporters during disaster relief efforts could become a significant political issue, especially with the 2024 election season approaching.

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