The Biden-Harris administration’s disaster relief agency is facing backlash after its unearthed emergency management blueprint went viral amid the destructive hurricane that recently ravaged the southern U.S.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website lists a set of three goals as part of their strategic plan to “address key challenges” in emergency management. The number one goal listed in the agency’s priorities is to “instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.”
The second goal is “Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience” and the third goal is “Promote & Sustain a Ready FEMA & Prepared Nation.”
According to FEMA’s plan, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot be optional.”
HURRICANE HELENE WREAKS HAVOC ACROSS ASHEVILLE, NC; NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED, 119 RESCUED
Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator, speaks during a news conference at the White House on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
“This requires that FEMA’s leadership and workforce demonstrate an increased commitment to integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in delivering the agency’s mission. FEMA must draw upon its staff’s diversity and range of experiences to consistently inform programming, policy, and decision-making,” the FEMA plan continued. “Through investment in diversity and inclusion efforts – including Employee Resource Groups and multicultural training – FEMA can increase its employees’ involvement and participation in cultivating a culture of inclusion.”
After Hurricane Helene broke out, leaving over 100 dead across six states and millions without power, social media users began criticizing FEMA’s strategic plan in the midst of the damage.
“I’m sure people who’ve lost loved ones, lost their homes and now see their town underwater feel really great knowing that FEMA’s #1 goal is to be woke. Everything about their terrible response makes sense now. What an embarrassment,” conservative activist Robby Starbuck said in a post on X.
“Our government is broken,” wrote author and scientist Robert Malone, M.D., of the agency’s plan. “I heartily disagree – the first priority of FEMA should be emergency response management.”
“If FEMA response for #HurricaneHelene is slower, it could be attributed to the agency making equity a ‘foundation of emergency management,’” Gabriella Hoffman, an Independent Women’s Forum’s director, said on X. “Yikes.”
FEMA, however, denies that the agency’s strategic plan has interfered with hurricane disaster relief.
“That is a lie. We help all people regardless of background as fast as possible before, during and after disasters. That is our mission and that is our focus,” director of public affairs Jaclyn Rothenberg told Fox News Digital. “We care about people, all people. We take our responsibility very seriously to help all communities regardless of background, so that we understand where people are coming from and what their need is so we can provide life-saving and life-sustaining support.”
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“In case you’re wondering why the response to Hurricane Helene has been a disaster… Fema’s goal 1 is to instill equity as a foundation of emergency management. This is real,” Libs of TikTok, an influential conservative account known for reposting far-left content, said in a post.
The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina, after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
“Other government agencies have declared DEI to be part of the scientific process, and therefore beyond the reach of elected officials,” Russ Greene, a senior fellow for economic progress at Stand Together Trust, wrote on X.
President Biden got defensive Monday during a press conference when he was pressed by a reporter on who was in command over the weekend to direct hurricane response since he was at his beach home in Delaware.
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“I was commanding it,” Biden declared from the doorway. “I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I command it. It’s called a telephone and all my security people.”
Biden turned again to leave as the reporter began to ask, “Is it not important for the country to see?”
The president left and the door closed mid-question.
At the start of his remarks, Biden assured that he and his team were “in constant contact with governors, mayors and local leaders” regarding Hurricane Helene.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed reporting.