FEMA fires official, blames alleged payments to New York City hotels for migrants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency fired its chief financial officer and three other employees, accusing them of making "egregious payments" for New York City hotels used for migrants, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday.

A DHS spokesperson called the employees "deep state activists" in a statement but did not provide further details about the alleged cause for termination. "Deep state" is a term that some Trump administration officials use to refer to a network of non-elected people in government whom they assert are working clandestinely to bypass elected officials to advance their own agenda. 

Reuters could not immediately reach the Chief Financial Officer, Mary Comans, and DHS did not disclose the names of the other employees.

Republicans have criticized a FEMA-run program that provides funding for cities to shelter recently arrived migrants. The funds for that program have come from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not from FEMA's disaster relief budget. New York City has received tens of millions in shelter grants to house migrants in hotels and shelters in recent years.

NBC News reported that a senior FEMA official on Monday instructed agency workers to freeze funding for grant programs despite a federal judge's order instructing the Trump administration to stop pausing such funding.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the report.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in a social media post that FEMA was under review and investigation, saying that the agency has spent tens of millions of dollars in Democratic areas, disobeyed orders and left North Carolina "high and dry." 

Parts of North Carolina and neighboring states were ravaged in September by Hurricane Helene, a storm that killed more than 200 people.

Trump issued an executive order in late January establishing a review council to evaluate FEMA after he floated the idea of shuttering the country's lead disaster response agency.

FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to help areas begin to recover from natural disasters. Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events have increased the demand for its services.

FEMA battled misinformation during the 2024 presidential campaign, including about disaster responses in North Carolina and Florida.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Mark Porter)