The House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after an employee was fired for training. hurricane relief workers in Florida to avoid houses with Trump flags

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, announced Saturday that he has sent FEMA Director Deanne Criswell a letter asking her to testify at a hearing to answer questions about the agency’s response to Hurricane Helene and Milton.

In the letter, Comer said the hearing would allow members to investigate recent reports that a FEMA official instructed relief workers to bypass hurricane-damaged homes displaying campaign signs for President Trump.

“In the wake of recent major disasters that have affected Americans of all political persuasions, it is critical that FEMA adhere to its mission of disaster relief,” he wrote.

The Oversight Committee investigation followed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ announcement Friday that he was launching an investigation into the agency.

“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. “At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination against Floridians who support Donald Trump.

“New leadership is on its way to DC and I am optimistic about these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”

The investigations were launched shortly after FEMA confirmed to Fox News Digital that an employee instructed aid workers to deny aid to residents who had Trump campaign signs on their homes. The Daily Wire was the first to report this.

“We take seriously our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters. This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel,” Criswell said. “I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again.”

A FEMA spokesman told Fox News on Friday that the agency is “deeply troubled” by the employee’s actions and that it was an “isolated incident.”

“FEMA helps all survivors, regardless of their preferences or political affiliation,” the spokesperson said.

“The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes and we are reaching out to people who may not have been contacted as a result of this incident,” said the spokesperson.

The spokesman added that the agency helped more than 365,000 households affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and provided nearly $900 million in direct assistance to survivors.

“We are appalled that this has occurred and have therefore taken extreme measures to rectify this situation and ensure that the issue is addressed at all levels.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to FEMA for comment.