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A Trump administration appointee who claims to have once teleported to a Waffle House is now on leave from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A FEMA spokesperson confirmed in a statement to The Hill that Gregg Phillips, who was leading a key disaster response office, is taking “leave for personal reasons.” “Since joining the agency, he has played a pivotal role in stabilizing the Office of Response and Recovery and advancing key reforms to strengthen our mission delivery,” said the spokesperson, who did not provide their name.

President Donald Trump’s top official overseeing disaster response insists he was once teleported to a Georgia Waffle House.Gregg Phillips, appointed in December to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of Response and Recovery, made the claim during a January 2025 episode of the podcast Onward, CNN reported on Friday in a deep-dive profile of the top official.“Teleporting is no fun,” Phillips said on the podcast, co-hosted by conservative activist Catherine Engelbrecht. “It was real.”Phillips, a longtime conservative activist who repeatedly shared conspiracy theories on social media before being appointed to a top FEMA position, described an incident in...

RealRobert@Real_RobN·Jun 13This is:The United States Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller:“The reason why those Americans in North Carolina, those mothers, those fathers, those precious little children, were left to die begging their government for help that never came is because the Democrats turned FEMA into an illegal alien resettlement agency.”Meaning:The Democrats said FEMA had NO money and left fathers to die in Maui.The Democrats said FEMA had NO money and left mothers to die in East Palestine, Ohio.The Democrats said FEMA had NO money and left children to die in North Carolina.BUT FEMA had...

President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Cameron Hamilton to serve as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nearly a year after he was removed as its acting head following testimony to Congress in which he defended the agency's existence. Hamilton went to the White House on Wednesday with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for a meeting with Trump to discuss FEMA opportunities, according to an administration official. But, the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News it has "no personnel announcements to make at this time.” The White House declined to comment and Hamilton did not respond to...

Gregg Phillips, the Trump administration official in charge of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, accused President Donald Trump’s Truth Social of “blocking” his posts on Wednesday after claiming to have teleported to a Waffle House 50 miles away. Phillips made headlines last month after it was revealed by CNN’s KFile that he had made a number of bizarre statements, including claims that he had teleported to a Waffle House 50 miles away. “I was with my boys one time and I was telling them I was gonna go to Waffle House and get Waffle House,” said Phillips during a...

A Democratic congresswoman is facing possible expulsion following a grueling seven-hour Ethics Committee hearing Thursday over allegations she diverted millions of dollars in emergency COVID-19 relief funds into her campaign. Republican Florida Rep. Greg Steube is prepared to offer a resolution to expel Democratic Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick after her rare public Ethics Committee hearing in which the panel examined 27 counts of alleged House rules violations. The House panel began reviewing the allegations against the Democrat in September 2023 and the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted her on 15 federal charges in November, which could result in a 53-year...

The Senate has approved a deal to fund TSA and most DHS agencies - but not ICE - ending a 42-day shutdown that has thrown America's airports into chaos. The bill, passed unanimously without a roll call, now goes to the House, which is expected to take it up Friday. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted the bill was 'not the way to fund the Department. But, we were out of time.' 'The Dems wanted reforms,' Thune said. 'We tried to work with them on reforms. They ended up getting no reforms but, you know, we're going to have...

A Democratic congresswoman accused of siphoning millions in federal disaster funds allegedly sought a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump at a White House Christmas party. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was indicted in November on charges she stole $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Cherfilus-McCormick approached Trump last year seeking clemency, a source familiar with the exchange told The Hill, even as she publicly insisted she is the victim of persecution by his Justice Department. The allegations will be aired Thursday in the first public House Ethics Committee hearing. Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty and criticised the...

Democratic senators say Republicans controlling both houses and presidency voted down multiple resolutions to fund TSA, Coast Guard and FEMA Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., deflected blame when pressed whether their party should vote to end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown on Sunday, which has left workers without paychecks for weeks. "We saw terror attacks in West Bloomfield, Michigan, in Norfolk, Virginia. This morning, the CEOs of the nation's major airlines and cargo carriers have written a letter to Congress calling for them to end the shutdown, talking about the importance of American security in...

Brief Summary of the Video: The YouTube video from Federal Watch News (uploaded around March 8, 2026) covers the federal indictment of U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL, 20th District), accusing her of stealing approximately $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds intended for COVID-19 vaccination staffing. Key points: In July 2021, a clerical error (misplaced decimal point) caused Florida's Division of Emergency Management to deposit $5.58 million into her company Trinity Healthcare Services' account instead of ~$50,000. She allegedly did not return the money; instead, over months, funds were moved through shell companies, family-linked entities, and used for personal purchases...

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to expedite rebuilding in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon after wildfires ravaged the Los Angeles communities in January 2025. According to a White House fact sheet, the order directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Karen Evans and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler to establish regulations preempting procedural permitting requirements at the state and local levels.

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore billions of dollars in canceled FEMA disaster mitigation funding, siding with 22 states and the District of Columbia that sued over the canceled grants this summer. President Donald Trump’s administration said in April it was “ending” the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which helped communities with predisaster projects to harden infrastructure and improve resilience against the increasing threats of climate change. The administration called the program “wasteful and ineffective” and said it would halt $3.6 billion in funding awarded but not yet paid and would...

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla) has been indicted for stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds, laundering the proceeds, spending part of the money purchasing luxury items for her own personal use, giving part of the money to friends and relatives who then illegally donated to her campaign for Congress, and for tax evasion. Her brother Edwin Cherfilus, Nadege Leblanc, and David K. Spencer were also indicted as accomplices in one or more of the criminal acts. Additional details may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov. In...

The House Democrat accused of stealing $5 million in FEMA funds called the indictment against her an attack on “Black and brown people.” Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) on Wednesday was indicted for allegedly stealing millions in relief funds and using a portion of the money to fund her campaign in 2022. Earlier in the year, the state of Florida sued Trinity Health Care Services for overpaying the company for a Covid-19 vaccination contract. Instead of correcting the supposed issue, the CEO of Trinity — Cherfilus-McCormick — allegedly loaned herself the money to invest in the campaign. The Justice Department accused...

(The Epoch Times)—WASHINGTON—Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said on Nov. 20 that he will file a resolution to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) from Congress. The Department of Justice indicted Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, on Nov. 19 for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds. She and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51, undertook a COVID-19 vaccination contract through their company in July 2021 when it received an overpayment of $5 million, according to the Justice Department. The two allegedly took the $5 million and put it in multiple accounts to cover up the source of the funds, according to the Justice Department. A...

The charges in the indictment against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., carry a maximum of 53 years in prison, the Justice Department said. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., was indicted Wednesday on charges she stole and laundered $5 million in federal relief funds and used the money for her congressional campaign, the Justice Department said. In a news release citing the indictment, the Justice Department said that Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and Edwin Cherfilus, 51, her brother, worked on a staffing contract funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Covid vaccinations tied to their family health care company in 2021 and that the...

In the pitch-black, storm-lashed hours before dawn on Independence Day, surging floodwaters ravaged Hunt and Kerr County in central Texas, including the summer camp filled with sleeping children. The catastrophic flooding killed 27 girls and counselors at Camp Mystic. The court filings accuse the camp of failing to move cabins out of flood-prone areas, responding poorly to the emergency, and putting profits ahead of the safety of the girls in their care.. Most of the cabins had been located in FEMA’s 100-year “Special Flood Hazard Area” up until 2013. That’s when the camp petitioned FEMA to remove most of the...

Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL) was indicted by a federal grand jury for stealing $5 million in FEMA funds. According to the Justice Department, Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother Edwin Cherfilus allegedly stole $5 million in FEMA funds and funneled it through different accounts to pay for the defendant’s 2021 congressional campaign. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is facing up to 53 years in prison if convicted. “Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will...

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) was hit with a federal indictment Wednesday, accusing her of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to support her 2021 congressional campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick, who has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since December 2023, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami and faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted. Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain....

DOJ charges Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) with stealing $5 million in FEMA funds, laundering the proceeds, and then using the money to support her 2021 Congressional campaign. She faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted. According to the indictment, DOJ says: “Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, both of Miramar, worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds.