Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, said Saturday she is removing herself from consideration for Florida Republican Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
"After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate," she wrote on X Saturday.
The president-elect has nominated Rubio to be secretary of state.
"I could not have been more honored to serve as RNC co-chair during the most high-stakes election of our lifetime and I’m truly humbled by the unbelievable support shown to me by the people of our country, and here in the great state of Florida," Lara Trump added.
Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, the president-elect’s son, stepped down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee earlier this month.
" I have read so many of your kind messages and I cannot thank you enough," Lara Trump said, adding she has a "big announcement that I’m excited to share in January."
She said she remains "incredibly passionate about public service and (looks) forward to serving our country again sometime in the future. In the meantime, I wish Governor DeSantis the best of luck with this appointment."
The president-elect had previously pressed DeSantis to name Lara as Rubio's replacement, a source in his political orbit told Fox News Digital, but he later told reporters he didn't necessarily expect him to select her.
Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater may ride the high of winning a state title back to the league.
Bridgewater coached Miami Northwestern to a Florida state title over the weekend. He suggested in an interview with the NFL Network that he hoped to get back to the professional ranks.
"That's the plan. My team knows that's the plan," he said Tuesday. "We wanted to win a state championship and then coach goes back to the league, see what happens, and then come back February in the offseason, continue coaching high school football. We'll see how it plays out."
Bridgewater didn’t say whether he had been in touch with any teams.
He was in his first season as head coach at Miami Northwestern – his alma mater. He led the school to the Florida Class 3A title on Saturday, defeating Jacksonville Raines High School 41-0.
The 32-year-old was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings out of Louisville in 2014. He was a Pro Bowler in his second season. But tragedy struck in 2016 when he suffered a near-career-ending knee injury.
He had a slow process to returning to 100%, playing in 15 games from 2017 to 2019. He got a starting role with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but failed to stick with another team.
He was last seen with the Detroit Lions in 2023.
Bridgewater has 15,120 passing yards and 75 touchdown passes in 79 career NFL games.
President-elect Trump says he doesn't think Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will name his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to succeed Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate.
"No, I don’t. I probably don't. But I don’t know," Trump said Monday as he took questions from reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "Ron’s doing a good job. That’s his choice – nothing to do with me."
Trump last month announced that he would nominate Rubio, the three-term senator from Florida and a senior Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, to serve as secretary of state in his incoming administration.
Since then, the president-elect and some top Trump allies have recommended that Lara Trump, who from March until a week ago served as Republican National Committee co-chair, fill the next two years of Rubio's term in the Senate.
DeSantis has said he'll make a decision on the Rubio Senate replacement by early next month.
Trump on Monday praised his daughter-in-law, saying, "Lara's unbelievable. She was incredible. The job she did at the RNC…. she is so highly respected."
And he added that Lara Trump is highly sought after.
"I also know that Lara got so many other things. I mean she's got so many other things. People want her to be on television. They want to give her contracts," Trump said. "She's got so many other things that she's talking about."
The president-elect also praised Rubio, but added, "He leaves a vacancy in Florida and Ron's going to have to make that decision. And he'll make the right decision."
Sources have confirmed to Fox News that Trump told DeSantis that he would like to see his daughter-in-law succeed Rubio. But Republican sources in Florida suggest that DeSantis is more likely to name someone who's held public office in the Sunshine State.
And Lara Trump, in interviews with Fox News and the AP, has said she would "seriously consider" serving Florida in the Senate.
DeSantis, a one-time Trump ally who clashed with the former president last year and early this year during a very contentious 2024 GOP presidential nomination race, mended relations a bit with the former president after the primary season, as he endorsed Trump and helped raise money for the Republican nominee's general election campaign.
"Florida deserves a senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results," DeSantis said last month.
And he noted at the time that "we have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting. More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January."
The formal confirmation process for Rubio by his fellow senators won’t kick off until after Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — who was urged by President-elect Donald Trump to run in the special election to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida's 1st Congressional District — hopes to win so he can support the incoming commander-in-chief's agenda.
Patronis told Fox News Digital during an interview on Thursday that he is eager to run and "support President Trump's agenda about" eliminating "wokeness" which has "infiltrated" government and society.
"We need common sense," he said, asserting that it is not currently "very common" in the U.S.
Asked whether he would be interested in joining the House Freedom Caucus if he wins the House seat, Patronis indicated that he would "love to know what they're all about," and said that many of the things he is familiar with the group participating in "make sense to" him.
He said, "the citizens of the United States, or in this case District 1, spend their money better than Washington D.C. does."
Patronis wants the Sunshine State to adopt gold and silver as legal tender and has called for a study on the issue.
"Gold and silver have been trusted assets for thousands of years, and it makes perfect sense to use them as legal tender. I'm launching this study to determine the best way to get it done," Patronis said in a statement included in a press release earlier this week.
He indicated to Fox News Digital that he hopes the study will pave the way for the state legislature to approve legislation "to allow this type of economic freedom right here in the state of Florida."
In addition to Trump's backing, Patronis also has scored endorsements from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that state workers will get three extra days off this month.
"In addition to Christmas Day and New Years Day, our state workers will get three extra days off—December 23, 24 and 31—to spend more time with their families and loved ones this holiday season," the governor declared in a post on X.
State offices will be closed on all five of those days, according to a press release from the governor's office.
"Florida is in great shape, and we want to reward our state employees," DeSantis said, according to the press release. "After a full year—including three costly hurricanes—we hope these extra days off allow for state workers to spend more time with their families and loved ones during this holiday season."
Last month, "state workers were given off for November 27," the day before Thanksgiving, Dan Barrow of the Florida Department of Management Services confirmed to Fox News Digital via email on Wednesday.
The department's website lists nine dates "observed as paid holidays by state agencies" in 2024, including New Year's Day, Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday following Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
"Full-time employees are entitled to one personal holiday each year," the site also notes.
Last year, DeSantis announced that state offices would be closed Nov. 22, Dec. 26, December 29 and Jan. 2, on top of regular closures during the holidays, according to a November 2023 press release.
"Our state employees have worked tirelessly throughout the year to aid and assist Florida families," DeSantis said, according to the release. "Over the past few months, they have selflessly responded to Hurricane Idalia and the State of Florida’s Israel Rescue Operation. Closing state offices on these additional days will provide state employees with some much-deserved time with their families and loved ones while enjoying the holiday season."
Florida state Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican, proposed a bill to require high school graduates with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status to pay out-of-state tuition for college.
Fine claims the state cannot afford to subsidize tuition for students who are not in the country legally and says the policy passed in 2014 offering them in-state tuition costs Florida $45 million a year.
Under S.B. 90, DACA students would no longer qualify for in-state tuition, which costs an average of $6,143 for the 2024-2025 academic year, according to the State University System of Florida. The University of Florida, for example, is $6,381 for in-state tuition but $28,658 for out-of-state tuition, according to US News & World Report.
"While blue-collar Floridians are struggling to make ends meet, it is not fair to require them to pay $45 million a year to subsidize sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here," Fine said in a statement.
"This is a no-brainer way to reduce the size of government and free up resources to help Floridians in need," he continued. "We must put Floridians first, and I am proud to do my part to rebalance the scales for our citizens."
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, has expressed strong opposition to the bill, arguing that the proposed change would create significant financial barriers for students who have lived in Florida most of their lives.
"These are students who have only known the United States as home," Eskamani said, according to Fox 13.
Eskamani also noted that many DACA students do not qualify for scholarships and are already at a financial disadvantage.
The legislation, Fine argues, is about "ensuring people who shouldn't be in the country aren't getting discounted educations," according to Fox 13.
Fine’s previous attempts to pass similar legislation have come up short, but Democrats worry that increased national focus on immigration issues, such as President-elect Trump promising mass deportations in his second term, could give the bill momentum this time around.
"I am concerned this policy may have legs this year," Eskamani said.
Fine, who joined the state Senate last month, is resigning from the legislature, effective March 31, so he can run for the U.S. House seat that is expected to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was nominated by Trump to be his White House national security advisor.
President-elect Trump is pressing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to name his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to fill Sen. Marco Rubio's seat in the Sunshine State, Fox Digital has learned.
President-elect Trump named Rubio as his pick for secretary of state last month, leaving DeSantis the decision to name a successor to the position. DeSantis said last month that he will likely name his pick for the seat by early January.
Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Lara Trump is a likely choice for the role, as Republican lawmakers such as Sens. Rick Scott, Lindsey Graham, Katie Britt and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida voiced support for her filling Rubio's Senate shoes. Lara Trump is married to the 45th president's son, Eric Trump, and co-chaired the RNC amid the 2024 presidential campaign.
A source in President-elect Trump's political orbit said Tuesday that the former and upcoming president is pressing DeSantis to name Lara Trump. The comment comes as DeSantis and Trump are expected to attend the annual Army-Navy college football game this coming weekend, Fox Digital previously reported.
If Rubio is confirmed as the U.S.' next secretary of state, his successor would serve in the Senate for two years before the seat is up for election again in 2026.
Amid speculation over Rubio's potential replacement, Lara Trump announced this week that she will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) after serving in the position throughout the presidential campaign. She explained in a social media post that she fulfilled three goals she sought as GOP co-chair, and would "formally step down from the RNC at our next meeting."
Lara Trump has publicly spoken favorably of potentially filling the Florida Senate seat, saying she would "100% consider" taking the job if offered by DeSantis.
"It is something I would seriously consider," she told The Associated Press. "If I’m being completely transparent, I don’t know exactly what that would look like. And I certainly want to get all of the information possible if that is something that’s real for me. But yeah, I would 100% consider it."
She additionally told Fox News' Sean Hannity last month that she "would love to serve the people of Florida" and "would love to consider" filling the seat if asked.
This is not the first time Lara Trump has been in the midst of Senate speculation. Following the 2020 presidential election, rumors spread across Washington, D.C., that the Trump daughter-in-law was considering a Senate run in her home state of North Carolina. She ultimately decided against a run, endorsing now-Sen. Ted Budd.
Fox News Digital's Christina Shaw and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés, who was just re-elected as a Democrat last month, announced that she's switching her party affiliation to Republican.
"I will not waste my final two years in the Florida Legislature being ignored in a caucus whose leadership expects me to ignore the needs of my community," the newly-minted Republican said in a statement.
"Effective immediately, I will change my registration from a Democrat to Republican and will join the Republican Conference in the Florida House of Representatives," she noted. "I know that I won't agree with my fellow Republican House members on every issue, but I know that in their caucus, I will be welcomed and treated with respect."
Her switch comes on the heels of a bid for the role of Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chair.
"While it remains disturbingly unclear whether she was entertaining the switch to become a Republican even as she was running to lead the local Party, ultimately it is her constituents in District 64 who have the most reason to be upset and betrayed," Hillsborough County Democratic Party chair Vanessa Lester said in a statement shared on the Hillsborough County Democratic Party's Facebook page. "They voted for a Democrat to fight for them and ended up with a political opportunist who abandoned them."
Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed the congresswoman to the Republican Party, declaring in a post on X, "Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdes! Congrats to Speaker @Daniel_PerezFL on the biggest Republican majority in the history of the Florida House!" the governor added.
Valdés hailed former President Jimmy Carter as "My hero!" in a post on X earlier this year while wishing the 100-year-old Democrat a happy birthday.
"I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," the former president told his son Chip, according to grandson Jason Carter, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported earlier this year.
In an October post on Facebook, Valdés wrote, "I pray you can see her inauguration, President Jimmy Carter."
President-elect Trump is considering nominating Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida as defense secretary to replace Pete Hegseth, Trump's embattled current pick to steer the Pentagon, multiple sources confirm to Fox News.
DeSantis, a bitter Trump rival last year and early this year during the GOP presidential nomination battle, made peace with Trump after the primaries and helped raise funds for Trump during the general election.
The popular conservative governor, a Navy veteran who served in the Iraq War, was re-elected in a landslide in 2022 but is term-limited and cannot run for re-election in 2026.
DeSantis is "very much" in contention to replace Hegseth, multiple sources told Fox News.
One source added that it was the president-elect himself who floated the governor's name, and that Trump and DeSantis discussed the idea as they met Tuesday while appearing together in Florida at a memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County.
The reporting from Fox News and other organizations comes as Hegseth on Wednesday returns to Capitol Hill to continue meeting with Republican senators as he makes his case for confirmation as defense secretary.
Hegseth, an Army National Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who previously was a Fox News host, is facing a series of drinking and sexual misconduct allegations.
Hegseth has denied allegations that he mistreated women.
"I spoke with the President-elect this morning. He said keep going, keep fighting," Hegseth told reporters as he arrived on Capitol Hill.
"Why would I back down? I have always been a fighter," he added.
Hegseth also made his case in a social media post on Wednesday morning, writing, "I'm doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers."
But a top Trump ally in the Senate is concerned.
"He obviously has a chance to defend himself here. But some of this stuff is — it’s going to be difficult," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime military veteran, told reporters on Tuesday.
Among the senators Hegseth was meeting with on Wednesday is Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a military veteran and sexual-assault victim whose support would be crucial to his Senate confirmation.
Ernst told reporters on the eve of the meeting that she would likely have a "frank and thorough conversation" with Hegseth.
Hegseth's mother, Penelope Hegseth, appeared Wednesday on "FOX and Friends" to defend her son and "set the record straight."
"I am here to tell the truth. To tell the truth to the American people and tell the truth to senators on the Hill, especially female senators. I really hope that you will not listen to the media and you will listen to Pete," she added.
If Trump moves ahead and nominates DeSantis and the governor is confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate next year, it would lead to the ascension of Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez. She would make history as Florida's first female governor — and the first of Cuban descent.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news that Trump is considering DeSantis for defense secretary.
President-elect Trump on Saturday nominated Florida sheriff Chad Chronister as administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
"For over 32 years, Sheriff Chad Chronister has served the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and received countless commendations and awards for keeping his community SAFE," Trump wrote in his announcement moments before he nominated Kash Patel to replace Christopher Wray as FBI director.
"A proud graduate of the FBI National Academy's 260th Session, Chad is Co-Chairman of the Regional Domestic Security Task Force for Region IV Tampa Bay, Council Member of the Florida Attorney General’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, Chairman of the Criminal Justice Sub-Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Hillsborough County Public Safety Coordinating Council, and Vice-Chairman of the Hillsborough County Public Schools Citizen Oversight Committee," he continued.
Trump said Chronister would work with Pam Bondi, his nominee for attorney general after Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew as nominee, to "secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES."
Congratulations to Chad, his wife Nikki, and two wonderful sons!" he added.
Chronister called his nomination the "honor of a lifetime" in a statement posted to social media.
"I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation," he added.
"Oh, I love that girl. I love that hair. I want her hair," Trump said as he drove up to the child. "Can I buy your hair? I’ll pay you millions for that."
The child is asked by someone: "What were you going to tell the president?"
"I voted for you," the child is heard saying.
Trump then invited the child to sit with him on the cart to take a photo. The incoming president's trademark hairdo has sometimes been the subject of jokes and curiosity.
During his first White House campaign in 2015, the then-Republican front-runner had a woman in the audience at a South Carolina rally touch his blonde locks to prove he didn't wear a toupee.
Before that, he also had Barbara Walters pull on his hair during a sit-down interview to prove he was not covering a bald spot.
The golf course where Trump encountered the child is the same site of the second attempted assassination of the president-elect in September.
Trump was also seen golfing with his granddaughter Kai, who has said she’s out to beat his "club championship" record, the New York Post reported.
The newspaper reported that the U.S. Secret Service has beefed up Trump's security detail following two failed attempts on his life — the first on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis plans to run for U.S. Congress, he indicated in a resignation letter circulating online.
In the letter to Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Secretary of State Cory Byrd, Patronis said, "… this letter is to give you notice of my resignation from the role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the State of Florida in order to become a candidate in the 2025 Special Election for Florida's First Congressional District.
"Because the primary election for CD 1 is currently scheduled for January 28, 2025, with the general election scheduled for April 1, 2025, I hereby irrevocably resign as CFO effective March 31, 2025."
Gaetz later withdrew from consideration for the role, noting in a post on X, "… it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General."
President-elect Donald Trump urged Florida state Sen. Randy Fine to run for Congress, pledging to endorse the Sunshine State lawmaker if he opts to throw his hat into the ring.
"I am hearing that America First Patriot Randy Fine is considering launching his Campaign for Congress in Florida's 6th Congressional District!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.
"Should he decide to enter this Race, Randy Fine has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, RANDY, RUN!" Trump urged.
In a post on X, Fine shared a screenshot of Trump's Truth Social post and said it would be an honor to help him carry out his agenda.
"Mr. President, G-d saved you on that day in Butler so that you could save the world. It would be the honor of my life to be one of your footsoldiers. Your confidence is overwhelming and I will have news to share soon!" Fine posted.
Just hours after voting to finance repairs to the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, the St. Petersburg City Council reversed course.
The Rays will now pay the division rival New York Yankees $15 million to play their home regular-season games at New York's spring training ballpark. That is now the only certain home the Rays will have until further notice.
The stadium's fiberglass roof was ripped clean off Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. Then came the destructive water damage inside the venue, causing an estimated $55.7 million in damage. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show.
The city at least would have supplied some funding and started the process with its initial vote, which was a 4-3 decision.
The initial vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that was done, crews would begin working on laying down a new baseball field and fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems, which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration.
Members who opposed it said there wasn’t enough clarity on numerous issues, including how much would be covered by the ballpark’s insurance and what amount might be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The reversal on fixing Tropicana Field came after the council voted to delay consideration of revenue bonds for a proposed new $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Just two days earlier, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its share of the new stadium bonds, leaving that project in limbo.
"This is a sad place. I’m really disappointed," council Chair Deborah Figg-Sanders said. "We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t."
The Rays say the lack of progress puts the new stadium plan and the future of Tropicana Field in jeopardy.
"I can’t say I’m confident about anything," Rays Co-President Brian Auld told council members.
The reversal now means the city and Rays must work on an alternative in the coming weeks so that Tropicana Field can possibly be ready for the 2026 season.
"I’d like to pare it down and see exactly what we’re obligated to do," council member John Muhammad said.
Several council members said before the vote on the $23.7 million to fix the roof that the city is contractually obligated to do so.
"I don’t see a way out of it. We have a contract that’s in place," council member Gina Driscoll said. "We’re obligated to do it. We are going to fix the roof."
The team's planned new stadium would be ready for the 2028 season, if that project advances, the team said Tuesday.
Rays top executives said in a letter to the Pinellas County Commission that the team has already spent $50 million for early work on the new $1.3 billion ballpark and cannot proceed further because of delays in approval of bonds for the public share of the costs.
"The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events," a letter, signed by co-presidents Auld and Matt Silverman, said. They noted the overall project was previously approved by the County Commission and the City of St. Petersburg.
Asked if Major League Baseball can survive long term in the Tampa Bay area, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg said the outlook is "less rosy than it was three weeks ago. We're going to do all that we can, as we've tried for 20 years, to keep the Rays here for generations to come."
President-elect Trump flipped six highly competitive states in his election victory last week. But as a Fox News analysis showed last week, his gains with voters were not limited to the battlegrounds.
This list covers the 10 states where Trump most outperformed his 2020 margins.
Notably, conservative strongholds aren’t the only states that made the list. The top 10 also includes deeply Democrat areas. Trump didn’t win these states, but they swung to the right.
Vote counting continues in some highly populated states on this list, including California and New York.
The president-elect posted a 4.2-point improvement on his 2020 vote share; Harris slipped by roughly the same amount.
He gained across Texas, with the largest swings concentrated in the southern parts of the state. Webb County, for example, home to Laredo, moved 25 points toward Trump. That gave Republicans their first win there in over a century.
On election night, the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Trump would win the state. With 99% of the vote counted, he is winning by 14 points.
Note: As of this writing, approximately 2% of ballots have not yet been counted in Mississippi.
So far, Mississippi has swung eight points toward Trump.
The president-elect posted a four-point improvement on his 2020 vote share; Harris slipped by roughly the same amount.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., took aim at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), arguing that its recent response to multiple deadly storms shows the agency needs to be "completely revamped."
"The No. 1 thing that hurts FEMA’s reputation is the fact that so many citizens are denied when they apply the first time they come through the FEMA portal. And if they have to go through congressional offices to get help… if that is going to be the protocol for our citizens to get help, from the emergency management agency, then it needs to be completely revamped," Donalds said during a House Oversight Committee hearing on FEMA Tuesday.
Donalds' comments came during questioning of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who was peppered by Republican members of the Oversight Committee to provide answers on FEMA’s response to recent storms and accusations that the agency discriminated against supporters of President-elect Trump.
FEMA has been under fire over the agency’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which earlier this year made landfall in the southeastern U.S. and caused widespread destruction across multiple states.
While the agency’s overall performance during the response to the two storms has been the center of controversy, members of the Oversight Committee repeatedly asked Criswell to answer to potential "systemic bias" against Trump supporters in its response.
The questions come after now-fired FEMA employee Marn'i Washington told relief workers to skip houses that had signs supporting Trump during the agency’s cleanup and recovery effort after Hurricane Milton, an incident Criswell insisted was isolated in multiple responses during the hearing.
"There is nothing in any of our policies, our training, or our information sent out to field workers, to avoid any home for whatever reason, especially not because of a political affiliation," Criswell said in response to questioning from Donalds. "The actions of this one individual are not representative of the work that we do at FEMA."
But Donalds, whose district was hit hard by Milton, said he had "an issue" with the answer, pointing to a New York Post report that featured an anonymous FEMA employee who claimed that such discrimination on the basis of political affiliation is an "open secret" at FEMA.
Criswell argued that the incident in question was investigated by FEMA and that an investigation into if such issues are more widespread is still ongoing, prompting even more fierce pushback from Donalds.
"You told me at the beginning of this questioning that there is nothing in your policies that would dictate that this is to occur, yet you have one official who was fired, who said it does occur. You have another official under your purview… talking to the press, that it does occur, but you can’t verify to this committee that these practices do or do not occur," Donalds said.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
