Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is in increasingly hot water as Democrats demand answers about her response to last week’s deadly Texas floods and emergency officials sound the alarm on policies they say stopped them from quickly providing relief.
Noem’s DHS, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is defending its approach after four FEMA officials told CNN that a new cost-cutting measure requiring her personal sign-off on any contract or grant over $100,000 impeded on the agency’s ability to swiftly respond in Central Texas, where around 120 people have died and more than 160 remain missing following flash floods.
“We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it,” a longtime FEMA employee told the network. “That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.”
The officials told CNN that Noem’s new policy stopped them from quickly deploying Urban Search and Rescue teams, which Noem didn’t authorize until Monday ― more than 72 hours after the flooding began and when more than 100 people were confirmed dead. Documents reviewed by CNN also found that by Monday night, a mere 86 FEMA staffers had been deployed to Texas.
