On Tuesday, President Trump went on an online tear against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling the agency a "disaster" that "should be terminated" and noting that it was "under review and investigation." More official repercussions followed, with an announcement from the Department of Homeland Security that it had fired FEMA's chief financial officer, Mary Comans, who manages the agency's $33 billion budget, and three other staffers, reports Reuters. Their supposed infraction: making "egregious payments" to hotels in New York City used to house migrants.
"DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people," a Homeland Security rep said in a statement. A day earlier, acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton had posted online that such supposed payments "have all been suspended from FEMA" and that "personnel will be held accountable." However, the New York Times reports that Hamilton was reacting to a "misleading" tweet from X owner Elon Musk, who claimed that FEMA sent $59 million earmarked for US disaster relief to "luxury hotels" in the Big Apple.
"New York City officials raced to clarify that the federal money had been properly allocated by FEMA under [President Biden] last year, adding that it was not a disaster relief grant and had not been spent on luxury hotels," the Times notes. The paper clarifies that the payments appeared to come from the Shelter and Services Program, which is funded through US Customs and Border Protection but administered by FEMA, with related payments "separate from the billions of dollars the agency spends on disaster relief."
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In his tweet, Musk mentioned there would be a "clawback demand" on the $59 million, but a spokesperson for New York City Hall says the city hadn't heard anything about a halt on any congressionally approved federal funding to help the area handle the 46,000 or so migrants currently hunkered down there. Last year, Congress set aside $237 million for the city for this purpose. City officials say the migrants, mostly families with kids, are typically housed in converted warehouses, tent camps, and older hotels and low-cost motels in Manhattan and surrounding boroughs. More here on what funds NYC has received in total, when, and how. (More FEMA stories.)
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