Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is rejecting criticism that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was unprepared for the deadly floods that devastated Texas Hill Country earlier this month.
“It’s discouraging, it’s discouraging that during this time when we have such a loss of life… people are playing politics with this,” Noem said in an interview with NBC. “The response time was immediate. And if you talk to anyone in Texas… they would say the federal government and President Trump immediately responded.”
Her defense comes as The New York Times reported that FEMA laid off hundreds of call center contractors in the middle of the crisis. According to the report, FEMA fielded over 99% of calls on the day of the layoffs, but that number dropped sharply, to 35.8% and 15.9% over the next two days.
FEMA renewed the contracts five days after they expired, the Times reported. Noem, however, dismissed the findings.
“I’m not certain it’s accurate, and I’m not sure where it came from,” she said. “And the individuals who are giving you information out of FEMA, I’d love to have them put their names behind it. Because the anonymous attacks to politicize a situation are completely wrong.”
Noem insisted the agency acted appropriately and credited President Donald Trump with leading an effective response. “These emergencies need to be conducted exactly how President Trump handled this one,” she said.
FEMA’s future remains unclear under Trump, who has floated the idea of significantly scaling back the agency. Last month, he suggested states should become less reliant on FEMA and has previously cut billions from disaster preparedness funding. Despite this, he has praised FEMA’s handling of the Texas floods.
Noem said Trump is not seeking to eliminate the agency but wants reform.
“I think he wants it to be remade so that it’s an agency that is new in how it deploys and supports states,” she explained.
