FEMA Disaster Chief Claims He Teleported to a Waffle House
Gregg Phillips was appointed head of the Office of Response and Recovery at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in December 2025, stepping into one of the agency's most critical roles just weeks before a string of severe winter storms swept across the country.
The appointment drew immediate scrutiny. Phillips has limited experience in disaster management and a well-documented history of conspiracy theories, violent rhetoric, and — as a January 2025 podcast appearance revealed — claims of involuntary teleportation.
The Teleportation Claims
During a January 2025 episode of the Onward podcast, hosted alongside right-wing activist Catherine Engelbrecht, Phillips described multiple incidents in which he said he had been involuntarily transported to distant locations.
In one account, he recalled being in his car and suddenly finding himself airborne. "I landed about 40 miles away in a ditch outside of a Baptist church in a little tiny town," he said. "It was an incredibly frightening moment to experience yourself in your car, flying through the air."
In a separate incident, Phillips claimed he told friends he was going to get food and ended up at a Waffle House approximately 50 miles from where he had been. When he contacted his friends to tell them where he had ended up, he said they did not believe him. "It was possible. It was real," he insisted.
FEMA responded to questions about the claims by calling the coverage "silly" and describing the comments as "personal, informal, jovial, and somewhat spiritual discussions made in the context of barely surviving cancer."
A History of Conspiracy Theories
Phillips' background raises broader questions about his fitness for a nonpartisan crisis management role. He has been closely affiliated with True the Vote, a nonprofit co-founded by Engelbrecht that claims to focus on protecting elections from fraud.
True the Vote became widely known after being featured in Dinesh D'Souza's 2022 documentary 2,000 Mules, which alleged widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Those claims were later refuted by rulings in more than 50 lawsuits brought by Trump and his supporters.
In 2023, the organization was the subject of a watchdog complaint filed with the IRS alleging that True the Vote funds had been used for personal gain. A spokesperson for the organization denied the accusations at the time.
A CNN KFile review also found deleted social media posts from Phillips directing personal attacks at Democratic officials and spreading conspiracy theories following the 2020 election.
Violent Rhetoric on Record
During the same January 2025 podcast episode in which Phillips described his teleportation experiences, he made explicit threats against former President Joe Biden, saying he would like to physically assault him and that Biden "deserves to die."
FEMA's response addressed those comments as well, saying they had been taken out of context and were made "in a private capacity prior to his current role."
Turbulence Around the Appointment
The circumstances surrounding Phillips' appointment have grown more complicated in recent weeks. Two senior Trump administration officials who vouched for him have since departed.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who publicly praised Phillips' qualifications at the time of his hiring, left the administration in February amid backlash over the agency's immigration enforcement operations. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is also being removed from her position at the end of March.
Noem's departure follows reported dissatisfaction from President Trump over her congressional testimony about DHS and ICE enforcement actions, including the fatal shootings of two individuals in Minnesota. Trump has selected Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as her replacement, pending a Senate confirmation vote expected in the coming days.
What Comes Next
Phillips is scheduled to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee as part of an upcoming hearing on the impacts of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. His appearance will mark one of the first opportunities for lawmakers to question him directly about his background and his role overseeing federal disaster response.
FEMA's Office of Response and Recovery coordinates the agency's efforts during major disasters, making it one of the most consequential positions in the federal government during emergencies. Whether Phillips will remain in that role as leadership at DHS transitions remains to be seen.
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