A Federal Emergency Management Agency employee has been fired after reports that in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, the employee told Florida relief workers to drive past homes with signs supporting Donald Trump, the agency said Saturday.

The agency confirmed that an employee advised its survivor support team not to go to homes with yard signs supporting Trump during rescue efforts after Milton hit the state last month as a Category 3 hurricane. FEMA said the employee, whose name was not released, has been fired. He said he believed this was an isolated incident that was now being investigated.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a statement that the employee’s behavior was “reprehensible.”

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

Criswell added that the agency has referred the matter to an office of in-house counsel and will do everything it can to make sure it never happens again.

“I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA, and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct,” she said.

The agency also said it is reaching out to people who may not have received help as a result of the employee’s referral.

The initial news of the FEMA employee giving those instructions to aid workers was first reported by The Daily Wire.

In a post on social media platform X, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said state officials were seeking answers to what he said were “partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy.”

“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,” DeSantis wrote.

The devastation in Milton — which killed more than 20 people, flattened homes and knocked out power to millions in Florida — came about two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm. Helene tore through Florida and the Southeast, triggering flooding, tornadoes and mudslides and killing more than 200 people.

Initial estimates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest the total damage from Milton and Helene could cost more than $50 billion. FEMA said it helped more than 365,000 Florida households affected by the storms and provided nearly $900 million in direct assistance to survivors.

But the incident involving the fired employee is likely to undermine FEMA’s efforts to combat the rampant misinformation it has encountered in its relief work. The agency and officials from several states have said a wave of conspiracy theories, rumors and lies about FEMA’s response has hampered the agency’s ability to provide accurate information and crucial resources.

Among the rumors circulated on social media by prominent conservative politicians, including Trump, were false claims that if people filed insurance claims, they would not be eligible for FEMA funding. Other unsubstantiated rumors suggested that FEMA was diverting relief funds to help pay for housing for immigrants in the country illegally. The agency has created a page on its website dedicated to debunking these claims.

In a call with reporters in October, Criswell said the spread of falsehoods made the agency a target of partisan rebuke and put lives at risk.

“It’s absolutely the worst I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Last month, a North Carolina man was arrested and charged with threatening federal emergency workers who were administering aid there after Helene’s remains devastated parts of the state. The arrest came after FEMA ordered its employees there to stop going door-to-door to help survivors amid various threats of violence.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2024 The New York Times