The Department of Homeland Security fired four employees for sending money last week to fund hotels for illegal migrants in New York City, Newsmax confirmed.
"Effective immediately, FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] is terminating the employment of four individuals for circumventing leadership to unilaterally make egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels for migrants. Firings include FEMA’s Chief Financial Officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Newsmax.
"Under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership, DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people."
The department's expected move, reported earlier Tuesday by National Review, followed Elon Musk post on X on Monday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered FEMA violated the law by sending "$59M last week to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants."
"Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President's executive order," Musk wrote on X. "That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals! A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds."
National Review quoted a DHS official on Monday as saying: "As [DHS] Secretary Noem said yesterday [Sunday], we must get rid of FEMA the way it exists today. This is yet another egregious example. Individuals who circumvented leadership and unilaterally made this payment will be fired and held accountable."
Democrats and others are seeking to stop DOGE and President Donald Trump from cutting programs, including using lawsuits to delay audits, investigations, and peeking into "read only" Treasury Department payment systems to verify fraudulent ongoing transactions.
FEMA has been under fire for complaints of running out of money during the Biden administration for disaster relief in North Carolina and Florida, while conservatives have chided the organization under former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for funding illegal immigration flights and housing.
The Stafford Act is a law passed requiring FEMA funding to be used for disaster relief, and Trump issued an executive order directing disaster relief to go directly to disaster victims like those ravaged by Hurricane Helene and not illegal migrant housing under Democrats' sanctuary city and Biden administration border policies.
Musk's X post came one day after Noem told CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump should "get rid of FEMA the way it exists today."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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