Even before recent revelations, Gregg Phillips was a poor choice for a leadership role at any federal agency. We are, after all, talking about a far-right activist who has spread baseless conspiracy theories and used violent rhetoric about his political opponents. What’s more, Phillips is an enthusiastic election denier who played a key role in the discredited “2000 Mules” project.

Phillips was nevertheless tapped to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Office of Response and Recovery, and he’s served in the role since late last year. (He’s a presidential appointee who did not need to be confirmed by the Senate.)

In recent weeks, however, Phillips has become still more controversial. CNN reported in late March that the FEMA official has claimed, more than once, that he was involuntarily teleported, including an incident in which he said he was sent to a Waffle House restaurant 50 miles away.

“Teleporting is no fun,” he said on a podcast last year. “It was real.”

In a follow-up report a week later, CNN noted that the FEMA official continued to insist on the validity of his claims.

This week, Donald Trump finally commented on the burgeoning controversy. From CNN’s latest report:

In a brief interview with CNN on his cellphone Thursday morning about Phillips, President Donald Trump said, ‘What does teleport mean? Was he kidding?’

Told that Phillips was not kidding, Trump responded: ‘I don’t know anything about teleporting. … It just sounds a little strange, but I know nothing about teleporting or him, but I’ll find out about it right now.’

The network’s reporting (which has not been independently verified by MS NOW) added that the White House contacted the Department of Homeland Security and urged officials to either “remove Phillips or keep him out of public view.”

It’s worth noting for context that the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing two weeks ago about the partial shutdown at the department, and though Phillips was originally scheduled to testify, his name was ultimately removed from the schedule.

Let’s also not forget that this guy was not rewarded for his political loyalties with some obscure position deep within the federal bureaucracy. On the contrary, CNN’s original report noted that despite his weird beliefs, Phillips is currently in one of “the most consequential” positions at FEMA, leading an office that makes decisions involving “search-and-rescue operations, emergency aid, infrastructure restoration and ultimately distributing billions of dollars in disaster assistance.”

Will Phillips soon be teleported to some other job? Watch this space.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

The post Pressed on controversial FEMA official, Trump asks, ‘What does teleport mean?’ appeared first on MS NOW.

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From MS Now.