'Just bad government': Noem slammed for covering up report that disproved Trump claim
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a roundtable on antifa, an anti-fascist movement U.S. President Donald Trump designated a domestic "terrorist organization" via executive order on September 22, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published a report earlier this year that disproved one of President Donald Trump's viral claims about disaster relief. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem decided to order another investigation in order to provide the result her boss wanted.
That's according to a Wednesday article in the Daily Beast, which reported that Noem called for a new investigation that would claim that FEMA, under former President Joe Biden's administration, selectively denied aid to Trump supporters. Trump initially claimed last year, after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, that affected residents that displayed pro-Trump signs at their homes were stiff-armed by FEMA agents on the ground.
However, a report by FEMA's Office of Professional Responsibility stated in April that "found no evidence that this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership," per Politico.
But last week, the DHS published a new report alleging "textbook political discrimination" by the Biden administration against hurricane victims. Noem stated that the new investigation's findings "should horrify every American." The report was authored by Roman Jankowski, an alumnus of the Heritage Foundation (which created the far-right Project 2025 playbook) who now heads the DHS Privacy Office.
"Our review found troubling patterns across multiple disasters and multiple years, not isolated examples," a DHS spokesperson said after the report was released.
FEMA staff have since spoken out against the new DHS report, claiming their work was being improperly maligned to suit a political agenda.
"If we do something wrong, okay, hold us accountable," an unnamed FEMA official told CNN. "But don’t fabricate it because it meets your political narrative. That’s just bad government."
“[Jankowski] definitely made it clear that he suspected FEMA was involved in broad-scale wrongdoing,” one FEMA official who spoke to Jankowski told CNN. "You could tell he had already arrived at a conclusion that FEMA as an agency needed to be severely punished, which was evident in his tone and language."
Click here to read the Beast's full report (subscription required), and click here to read CNN's article.
