A tattered American flag flaps in front of a home damaged by Hurricane Helene on Anna Maria Island, Florida, on October 8. Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press, file

A Federal Emergency Management Agency employee has been fired after she ordered workers helping hurricane survivors not to go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump, the agency’s leader said Saturday in a statement.

“This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values ​​and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “This was reprehensible.”

The agency did not identify the employee or say where the incident occurred.

But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling it “targeted discrimination” against Trump-supporting Floridians, said it happened in his state.

DeSantis said he has ordered the Florida Division of Emergency Management to begin an investigation into the case.

“The blatant government hogging by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said on social media. “New leadership is on the way in DC and I am optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”

There were no details in FEMA’s statement or DeSantis’ comments about the time frame or community where the incident occurred. FEMA workers were in Florida helping residents recover from Hurricane Milton, which devastated many communities in the state last month.

Criswell, the head of FEMA, said she is determined to hold her employees accountable.

“I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again,” she said.

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