A former senior official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has filed a lawsuit claiming she was unlawfully terminated and subsequently defamed by the administration. The official, Mary Comans, was one of four FEMA employees dismissed in mid-February. She alleges that following her firing, government officials issued statements portraying her actions as criminal, leading to widespread condemnation online.
Comans’ complaint states that she was publicly accused of circumventing leadership to authorize excessive payments for housing migrants in luxury hotels in New York City. These claims were amplified by social media figures, including Elon Musk, who alleged that FEMA had improperly spent $59 million on accommodations for undocumented migrants. According to the lawsuit, the Trump administration’s press releases and statements spurred a smear campaign against her, falsely branding her as corrupt.
The former FEMA official argues that these accusations are baseless, asserting that the funds in question were legally allocated under the Shelter and Services Program, a budget managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She contends that her termination violated due process and lacked any prior warning or disciplinary history.
Her lawsuit highlights that she had consistently received high performance ratings and was entitled to procedural protections as a member of the civil service and the Senior Executive Service. She claims the administration failed to follow required protocols when dismissing her and unlawfully disclosed damaging information, contributing to her defamation.
In addition to suing for damages, Comans has filed a complaint with the Merit System Protection Board, aiming to challenge her termination and safeguard the rights of federal employees facing similar actions. Her case is one of several amid a wave of mass firings across government agencies, with multiple officials alleging they were dismissed without proper cause or due process.
Comans asserts that the administration’s actions have harmed her reputation, falsely portraying her as a criminal in a politically charged effort to discredit government workers. She maintains that she has never faced criminal charges and that the accusations against her were designed to serve a broader agenda.
Efforts to obtain official comments from DHS and FEMA regarding her claims have been unsuccessful.
