The federal government’s role in supporting disaster victims will face new scrutiny from Congress this week as three committees prepare to hold hearings focused on the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA, led by Administrator Deanne Criswell, has been at the center of a storm of controversy since hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated a swath of the Southeast in September and October.
Some residents of impacted communities protested that assistance was not coming as quickly as they expected, and those complaints were quickly swept up in a wave of rumors — many of them propagated by President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans — including assertions FEMA was intentionally delaying or blocking aid.
The rumors and conspiracy theories resulted in threats of violence against FEMA employees and were rebuked by Biden administration officials.
