Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday called it “despicable” that Democrats are playing politics with the Trump administration’s response to deadly flooding in Texas.
Ms. Noem rebutted reports that her department was slow to respond because she had initiated a requirement that she must approve expenses over $100,000 and that firings at the Federal Emergency Management Agency made the situation worse.
“No, it is an absolute lie,” she said on “Fox News Sunday,” referring to the claim that the administration had fired FEMA employees. “That is what I think is so disingenuous and horrible about the situation. Nobody was fired. No contacts were ended.”
“The fact that Democrats are politicizing this while people are still looking for their babies,” she said. “They are still looking for their family members. I think it is absolutely despicable.”
Ms. Noem said the Trump administration’s response was “unprecedented.”
The Trump administration’s response to the flooding has been under a spotlight, and its efforts to downsize the federal workforce, including at FEMA, have faced more scrutiny.
The New York Times reported that FEMA did not answer about two-thirds of the calls coming into its disaster assistance lines because the agency, on July 5 — a day after the flooding — had fired thousands of contractors at call centers.
Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump toured the devastation Friday, meeting with first responders, survivors, and families of the deceased.
Mr. Trump, who has previously talked about eliminating FEMA, praised the agency’s response.
“I have gone to a lot of hurricanes, a lot of tornadoes, I have never seen anything like this,” Mr. Trump said. “Our nation, we mourn for every single life that was swept away in the flood, and we pray for the families that are left behind.”
Mr. Trump also said he felt everyone who responded “did an incredible job under the circumstances.”
Meanwhile, the death toll from the July Fourth flooding reached 120, and 170 people are still missing.
Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said last week that 1% of the 3,000 calls FEMA received on July 5th went unanswered, but said, “That night, Trump/Noem fired the people who answer the calls.”
“On July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls. 65% unanswered,” Mr. Murphy said on X. “July 7: 85%. Sick.”
Ms. Noem denied the accusation.
“The American people, I think, need to know the truth of what they are doing and how they are taking advantage of this situation to help themselves politically,” Ms. Noem said. “It is a disservice not just to the people of Texas who are going through this grief right now, it is a disservice to our country.”
