Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called for the state’s attorney general to investigate whether FEMA discriminated against Trump-supporting Tennesseans.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in calling for an investigation into claims that some Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers were instructed to avoid the homes of Trump supporters in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton in September and October.
“FEMA exists to serve all Americans, and these actions have eroded the people’s trust by failing to deliver desperately needed relief to all survivors,” Lee said in a post on social media platform X.
In Tennessee, Helene caused widespread damage to homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure in the eastern part of the state, resulting in the deaths of 17 people.
“Americans should never have the government weaponized against them,” Lee said in a follow-up post, adding that he is working with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to determine whether Tennesseans were discriminated against.
According to screenshots of internal messages published by The Daily Wire, a FEMA official instructed relief workers who were identifying residents eligible for federal aid in Lake Placid, both orally and via internal messages, that it was best practice to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
One image shows that a relief worker uploaded a photo of a property with a Trump flag with a note stating, “Trump sign no entry per leadership.” Other notes stated, “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” “Trump sign,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”
Lee said that he looks “forward to President Trump taking swift action to remove partisan bureaucrats when he takes office.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also commented on the reports, saying in a post on X: “FEMA’s mission is ‘to help people before, during, and after disasters.’ Under Biden and Harris, it turns out you only get help if you’re a Democrat voter. This bias ends in January.”
