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The White House has urged the director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), Brock Long, to resign and consider the replacements as an internal ethics watchdog that investigates him, according to a report from the The Wall Street Journal.
The investigation, first published by Politico on Thursday, is being conducted by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security on the possible hijacking by Long of government vehicles and taxpayers' money to get to Washington, DC in North Carolina.
For a long time, he would have made frequent trips home, a six-hour car ride, using vehicles and government personnel. Government employees were then placed in hotels during his stay at home using taxpayers' money. The investigation was opened after Long was allegedly involved in an accident with one of the vehicles.
Neither FEMA nor the Office of the Inspector General responded to Newsweek & # 39; s Thursday questions about the incident.
On Thursday, at a press conference on Hurricane Florence, Long acknowledged the investigation and said he would cooperate fully.
"I would never intentionally do an incorrect program," Long said. "Doing something ethical is not part of my DNA and it's not part of my background in my entire career. We will work with the OIG [office of the inspector general]. "
The Trump administration had begun discussing the replacement of the man responsible for the response to Hurricane Florence, as the powerful hurricane approached the Carolinas, according to a senior White House official quoted by the newspaper. The Wall Street Journal.
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DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also urged Long to resign if the preliminary findings of the investigation she showed him were true, according to a senior official. But another administration official said that it was not true. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly decided to leave Long until the final report was released.
Politico's report suggested Thursday that there were clashes between Long and Nielsen because of his frequent trips to his home in North Carolina and his absence from the office.
FEMA, which is managed under the DHS, has transferred money from the administration to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Sen. Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon revealed documents on MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show which The Trump administration has requested that $ 10 million be taken from the disaster relief organization earlier this year and transferred to the ICE to further fund the detention of migrants passing through illegally the border.
Long accused Merkley of "playing politics" the next day on MSNBC and said that the transfer of funds would not have an impact on the $ 15 billion budget of the administration.
"At the moment, this money has nothing to do with what you see behind us," Long told FEMA's response center in Washington. "It does not pay for this answer, it does not come out of the relief fund, it has no impact on our efforts to prepare for Hurricane Florence.Unfortunately, we have a Congressman who plays politics in Florence There is no history there. "
Former FEMA leader Scott Pruitt resigned from office in July after reports of inappropriate spending were reported.
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