()  Four Federal Emergency Management Agency employees have been fired for making payments to New York City for hotels to house migrants.

A Tuesday statement from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said these firings, which included FEMA’s chief financial officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist, are “effective immediately.”

“FEMA is terminating the employment of four individuals for circumventing leadership to unilaterally make egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels for migrants,” the statement said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people.”

New York City spokeswoman Liz Garcia told The Associated Press that NYC officials never paid luxury rates for hotels.

On Twitter, Elon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency discovered that $59 million was sent to New York for these hotels.

“Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” Musk said.

Information from New York City indicated the money it received to care for migrants was appropriated by Congress and allocated to the city last year by FEMA, according to the AP. Funds were likely sent by the Shelter and Services Program, the AP wrote, which reimburses cities, towns or organizations for immigration-related expenses.

FEMA administers the payments, which is specifically for Customs and Border Protection. It is separate from the disaster relief fund that helps people after disasters.

Trump calls for end to FEMA

This comes as President Donald Trump again calls for FEMA to be abolished.

“FEMA spent tens of millions of dollars in Democrat areas, disobeying orders, but left the people of North Carolina high and dry,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It is now under review and investigation.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said she wants Trump to  “get rid” of FEMA as it exists today.

“I would say, yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today. We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters, like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California,” Noem said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “But you need to let the local officials make the decisions on how that is deployed, so it can be deployed much quicker.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.