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WASHINGTON – As Hurricane Florence descended on the east coast, senior Trump administration officials have considered replacing the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency with reports that he used resources to to visit his home in North Carolina.
FEMA Administrator Brock Long is undergoing an internal investigation into frequent travel between the nation's capital and her home in Hickory, North Carolina, according to people familiar with the survey. The investigation included monitoring Mr. Long because he was driven 400 miles in each direction during his trip, people said.
Investigators told government officials that Mr. Long, then under surveillance, often left the agency's headquarters on Thursday and was returning home with a caravan of federal officials who were staying in nearby hotels for the long weekend. end. He has spent about 150 days in North Carolina since taking office last year, people said.
Mr. Long refused, through a spokesperson, to comment on Friday. He has already denied any wrongdoing and did not attend two FEMA press conferences on Friday afternoon about the storm.
The White House has begun to discuss potential replacements for Mr. Long, said a senior White House official.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Mr. Long said he "would never have intentionally executed a program incorrectly" and pledged to cooperate with the investigation and that he and the agency were " fully focused "on the impending storm. "This is exactly where our attention should be from the point of view of the security mission of the people," he said.
The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security also examines communications between Mr. Long and a FEMA contractor that appear to include discussions of future jobs, said one of the survey's officials. Investigators are also investigating an accident involving a federally-owned sport utility vehicle used to transport the director, who was not properly reported, the person added.
Long was informed last fall by DHS lawyers and the Inspector General that his home trips were against the law, people said. The Office of the Inspector General told the administration officials that they had decided to use the federal resource to return home despite the warnings, said the investigator.
The Inspector General's final report is expected in the coming days, but preliminary findings have been shared with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, officials said. The existence of the investigation was reported by Politico on Thursday.
Ms. Nielsen provided details of the preliminary findings to Mr. Long and urged him to resign if the allegations were accurate, said one administration official. Another official aware of the situation disputed that the secretary made this suggestion to Mr. Long.
A DHS spokesman declined to answer the allegations, referring questions to the Inspector General's office. The Office of the Inspector General did not respond to requests for comment.
"At the present time, we are fully focused on the preparation, response and recovery after Hurricane Florence and the storms in the Pacific," said DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton, in a statement. a statement. "The Secretary is confident in FEMA's leadership and proven capabilities in disaster management."
Senior White House officials have mentioned Mr. Long's replacement in recent days, according to someone close to the issue. White House chief of staff John Kelly finally decided to leave Mr. Long in place until the final report was available, the person said. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.
President Trump has met with Mr. Long regularly in recent days as Hurricane Florence caused flooding and heavy rains on the southeast coast. On Tuesday, Trump congratulated his FEMA director as "who did so well for us" during the storms that hit Texas and Florida last year.
In FEMA, Mr. Long is well liked. Several FEMA officials said privately that they felt conflicted over reports of his trip.
A FEMA official said Friday that the administrator had national security responsibilities and that the use of government vehicles supported this effort and allowed him to provide classified communications. The official also stated that in previous administrations the use of vehicles in a similar way was a common practice. Officials are working to resolve any discrepancies in the use of specialized vehicles and federal laws, added the official.
Mr. Long joined the administration when Ms. Nielsen was DHS Chief of Staff and Mr. Kelly was Secretary. Previously, Mr. Long was a senior executive with Hagerty Consulting, an Illinois-based emergency management consulting firm based in Washington. Mr. Long also led the Emergency Management Agency in Alabama and was a manager of emergency management in Georgia. He has also worked at FEMA.
Long is the latest Trump administration official to answer questions about the inappropriate use of federal resources during his travels.
Scott Pruitt, a former director of the EPA, resigned in July, citing ethical misconduct and inappropriate spending, including $ 163,000 on first-class flights, military aircraft and charter flights. Health and Social Services Secretary Tom Price resigned last September for his heavy use of private jets and military flights.
-Ben Kesling contributed to this article.
Write to Michael C. Bender at [email protected]
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