WASHINGTON—House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer revealed Tuesday that a whistleblower claimed a FEMA supervisor in Georgia directed a family to remove Trump campaign signage from their home, saying it was not “looked kindly” on by the agency. 

Comer made the statements during a hearing where lawmakers grilled FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about an agency employee who told relief workers in Florida to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” Criswell has maintained that the guidance was an isolated incident and not the result of agency policy to skip over “politically hostile” homes.

But testimony from Comer and other lawmakers testimony casts doubt on Criswell’s comments. 

“My staff made contact with a new whistleblower who provided a credible account that a FEMA contractor visited the home of an elderly disabled veteran’s family around October 10 following Hurricane Helene,” Comer said after the committee came back from recess. “While there he recommended that they remove Trump campaign materials and signs from both their house and yard. He warned the family that his FEMA supervisor does not take kindly to Trump supporters and that they are seen as domestic terrorists.” 

🚨BREAKING- Chairman Comer reveals a NEW whistleblower in a different state claims that FEMA purposely avoided the homes ofTrump supporters when providing disaster relief.

“During the recess for votes, my staff made contact with a new whistleblower who provided a credible… pic.twitter.com/HV03qRpXLG

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) November 19, 2024

Comer said that the whistleblower claimed FEMA never returned to the family’s home even after they removed their Trump gear. 

“The elderly homeowners were so frightened by this, and afraid they would not recover their loss, that they removed all Trump materials and signs,” the Kentucky Republican said. 

The Oversight Committee called Criswell to testify after whistleblowers told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes in Lake Placid were skipped during relief operations after Hurricane Milton because they had Trump flags or signs. 

Criswell testified for over six hours on Tuesday, facing questions about the guidance. She said she was “heartbroken” by the guidance and that the investigation into the incident was ongoing. 

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.

Her testimony contrasted with statements from Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) who said during the hearing that over 35 of his constituents reached out to him with allegations that FEMA had discriminated against them. Steube said his office had information on “specific instances, factual instances, where they were either overlooked or specifically discriminated against because of their political affiliation.”

Criswell confirmed during the hearing that she had asked the Inspector General to launch an independent investigation into the guidance, to supplement FEMA’s ongoing internal investigation.

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) told The Daily Wire that she was not happy with Criswell’s answers.

“You have blatant discrimination going on,” McClain said. “She fired the person who sent out the text, fantastic, but what about all of the layers in between who knew that it was going on.”

She said that Criswell was “conveniently” ignorant of details surrounding who was managing Washington and who she answered to. 

“There seems to be a lot of unanswered questions with the exception of we fired the person who did it, ” McClain said. “but what enabled, what empowered that person to do that?”

Before testifying before the Oversight Committee, Criswell faced questions from lawmakers on the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.