[ad_1]
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has ordered Federal Emergency Management Agency director Brock Long to reimburse the government for the inappropriate personal use of official vehicles, discovered at the time. of an investigation. But he will not lose his job – at least for the moment.
A report from the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security found that Long had used government vehicles for "unofficial" reasons, as well as traveling between his home in Hickory, North Carolina, and his office in Washington without authorization. According to a statement from Nielsen Friday after reviewing the results. She did not elaborate on the details of Long's "unofficial" use of government vehicles. The report of the monitoring body was not made public on Friday night.
For a long time clouded, FEMA responded to Hurricane Florence's devastation in the Carolinas, while repelling attacks for the persistent problems in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria more than a year ago. Long appeared on CBS last Sunday to defend Donald Trump after the president mocked angrily the estimates of nearly 3,000 people died as a result of Maria.
Long would have considered resigning at the very moment that Florence was landing Sunday on the East Coast. He and Nielsen have had a longstanding quarrel for over a year.
But Long and Nielsen seemed to be getting a little closer to both as they described Long's personal use of government vehicles as "faults" rather than an intentional and unauthorized use of vehicles.
"I take seriously the unauthorized or improper use of government resources by a DHS employee," Nielsen said in his release. "The administrator acknowledged that mistakes had been made and he took his personal responsibilities."
Nielsen said that she had ordered Long to "repay the government, if any, for any unofficial use of government vehicles." She also ordered him to review policies regarding the use of government vehicles by FEMA officials.
Long said in a statement: "As the leader of this agency, I accept full responsibility for any mistakes made by me or by the agency. The secretary and I are taking corrective action to prevent such mistakes from happening again in the future.
There may still be other actions against Long. CBS News reported earlier this week that the Inspector General's findings had been forwarded to prosecutors to consider possible criminal charges.
The House Oversight Commission also examines Long's travels. It has until October 1 to provide the committee with travel and hotel records that may be used by FEMA employees who accompany them on personal trips.
Long, 43, took office as a director of FEMA more than a year ago. According to the Washington Post, the feelings of dissatisfaction between him and Nielsen – who was then chief of staff to US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly – would have started shortly after he did not attend the meetings. in the morning with the agency staff. There are also tensions over Long's potentially competing relationship with the president, according to the Post.
[ad_2]
Source link
