A former Top FEMA official, who was removed by critics called “a luxury hotel,” as part of a political blow to New York City’s payments for housing immigrants, claims she “was illegally terminated from her standpoint” without a legitimate process.
Mary Comans, who served as FEMA’s chief financial officer since 2017, claims her layoff was “mistaken online denunciation” by prominent individuals, including tech billionaire Elon Musk, who oversees the government’s cost-cutting measures as the newly formed head of government efficiency.
The Commans lawsuit filed Tuesday in the District of Columbia alleges it ended “without warning.” The lawsuit said it had issued a press release claiming that the government “didn’t take on “any process” to properly respond to her,” and later claiming that she was in violation of privacy laws.
“In addition, the defendant misled, intentionally and publicly portrayed Mr. Commans’ actions, as a third party claimed that her actions were criminals.

Mostly new arrivals will receive an afternoon meal from Trinity Services on January 24, 2024 in New York City for the homeless, across from Tompkins Square Park.
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The lawsuit says the press release has led to her actions being “widely, publicly and falsely condemned” by online influencers, including masks. The lawsuit includes a screenshot in which one of Musk’s tweets responds to a post about Commanders, who writes that she committed a “criminal lawsuit.”
“Before her firing, Commans was an exemplary employee with no disciplinary history and was rated “achieving excellence” every year she worked as SES,” Filing said.
Commans asked the judge to declare that DHS and FEMA’s actions were illegal and demanded financial damages.