The Federal Emergency Response in Texas Leaves a Lot to be Desired

In the aftermath of the July 4 flooding in Texas, which has left at least 120 dead and even more than that missing, attention has focused on cuts made by the administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Criticism of the accuracy of the weather forecast by local officials in Texas caused many to wonder if Trump's cuts had harmed those agencies' ability to accurately predict rain. However, it now appears that the forecasts and predictions were reasonably accurate. That, however, does not mean that the federal response has not fallen short in other areas. To the contrary, there is plenty of room to be concerned about the state of federal emergency response services.

One problem that has been highlighted is that while NWS predictions and warnings were reasonably sufficient, communicating that information to those who needed to hear it was problematic. The flash flood warnings came in the early morning hours when most residents of the area were likely sleeping and were in places with spotty or non-existent mobile phone coverage. As incoming NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs said:

Coming from a background of numerical weather prediction, I always thought naively that if I could improve the forecast skill, I would save more lives, and it turns out it’s really the last mile. Even if you have a perfect forecast, if you can’t get the information to the people, it’s totally useless.

This "last mile" communications challenge may have been exacerbated by the fact that Paul Yura, a 20-year NWS veteran responsible for "warning coordination" in the Texas Hill Country, retired 2 months ago amid cuts by the U.S. DOGE Service. His position has not been filled. It is entirely possible that a trusted voice with a wealth of local knowledge — and local contacts — might have been more successful in getting the message out.

If the NWS and NOAA generally did their job, though with caveats, the same cannot necessarily be said about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). For reasons that are not entirely clear, Trump and his Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are convinced that FEMA is full of waste and are considering dissolving the agency altogether. Noem enacted a requirement that any expenditure above $100,000 must have her personal approval. Because Noem seems to spend the bulk of her time trying on costumes in preparation for photo shoots, she is not readily accessible when funds need to be approved quickly. In the case of the Texas floods, CNN reports that FEMA was unable to pre-position Urban Search and Rescue teams in the endangered region. These specially trained rescue teams would have been able to react quickly and save lives. Instead, it took three days before Noem approved funds for their deployment. By that time, any rescue operation was moot.

To say that FEMA currently has a leadership vacuum is to radically understate things. Those of us old enough to remember FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina have probably assumed that no FEMA administrator could ever be worse than Michael Brown, the former International Arabian Horse Association official that George W. Bush appointed as head of FEMA. To that, the current acting administrator, David Richardson, soundly says to hold his beer. Richardson, a former Marine combat veteran and martial-arts instructor, has no experience in emergency response. For that matter, Richardson has no experience managing a large organization. Upon assuming his duties at FEMA, he proudly told his staff that "I’ve never read a book on leadership." At one of his first meetings, he expressed surprise that the United States has a hurricane season. That season had started the previous day, and, at the same meeting, Richardson said that FEMA would not be releasing an updated disaster plan that had previously been promised for hurricane season.

Since the flooding began in Texas, Richardson had been completely unseen. Independent journalist Marisa Kabas has diligently been trying to track down Richardson. As she reported yesterday, "he still has yet to make a single internal or public comment about the impact of the Texas floods and how his agency is helping survivors." Kabas quotes Dr. Samantha Montano, Associate Professor of Emergency Management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, as saying:

Richardson should be on the ground in the impacted areas meeting with local, state, and nonprofit stakeholders. He should be holding press conferences and providing interviews for national outlets. He should be monitoring FEMA’s resources and the broader federal response to ensure it is moving effectively and efficiently.

But, Kabas reports, "he’s holed up in his Washington, DC office at FEMA headquarters" and has not mentioned Texas in any capacity. While much of the mainstream media has ignored Richardson's absence, it is finally starting to be noticed. E&E News by Politico reported today that Richardson has not been to Texas since the disaster and that yesterday he attended a meeting during which he said nothing (not nothing about Texas, but nothing at all, about anything). The article quoted a former FEMA chief of staff, Michael Coen, as saying, "It shows governors and emergency managers around the country that when they have a need from the federal government, Richardson is probably not going to be their first call." Instead, FEMA's response apparently is being handled by Noem, but she also is giving it limited attention. While Noem did make a stop in Texas, since then, according to E&E, she "has held news conferences announcing DHS actions easing airport security and limiting foreign farmland purchases." She also had a meeting about the 2026 World Cup that will be held in the United States. It is not clear how much of her attention Texas is receiving.

Trump's approach is clearly to leave disaster response to the states. In the case of Texas, the state has a large and effective emergency response operation and has mostly been able to react sufficiently without federal support. The state did encounter delays, however, when Texas officials requested aerial imagery from FEMA to aid in rescue operations. Noem's approval of the necessary contract was required, and that took time. But what will happen if or when disasters span state borders? Certainly, uncoordinated independent state responses will not be as effective as a unified response managed by FEMA?

Trump has also politicized the distribution of federal relief funds. California has been waiting for months for $40 billion in assistance following deadly wildfires. That is being held up as Trump and other Republicans argue that Democratic states such as California must change liberal policies in exchange for federal dollars. But Trump's attitude towards Texas is very different. While there is clear evidence that conservative political policies — namely a reluctance to pay for emergency infrastructure — contributed to the death toll in Texas, the state is not being asked to change policies. To the contrary, Trump is promising prompt and unconditional federal assistance.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who represents Texas, personally inserted language into the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act that stripped money meant to improve weather forecasting. Cruz then went on vacation to Greece, where he was when the disaster in his state struck. Cruz remained in Greece instead of immediately returning. This follows his previous escape to Cancún, Mexico when Texas was hit by a crippling winter storm. Cruz has been in the forefront of critics blaming California Governor Gavin Newsom for the fires in California. The Senator has never missed an opportunity to politicize natural disasters in the state. Now that it is Texas, rather than California, that has suffered, Cruz is singing a different tune. Talking about the recent flooding in Texas, Cruz said, "One of the things that’s predictable is that you see some people engaging in, I think, partisan games and trying to blame their political opponents for a natural disaster." Cruz is certainly in a position to know given that he is one of the leading perpetrators of such behavior.

Trump and Republicans in general are synonymous with incompetence. Republicans in Texas left their state exposed to this very predictable disaster — the flooding happened in a region nicknamed "Flash Flood Alley," so it is not like flash floods are a surprise. Trump, and Cruz personally, have acted to undermine the federal government's ability to predict and respond to such disasters. Now that they have become victims of their own incompetence, they are acting to defend themselves from the same criticisms that they have routinely made of their political opponents. In a perfect world, Americans of all political persuasions would be united when it comes to emergency response. Natural disasters don't have political allegiances. But Trump and Cruz have routinely politicized emergency response, and both are working to destroy FEMA, making emergency response even more fractured and politicized.