Trump’s Response to Severe Flooding Failed Texans, Put More Lives At Risk

Washington, D.C.  — While visiting Central Texas after the severe flooding, which killed at least 120 people, Trump praised his administration’s response – but he failed Texans through his reckless cuts and policies. Trump and Republicans have gutted weather forecasting and slashed our disaster response – putting lives at risk. Trump officials delayed life-saving search and rescue efforts for three days. As extreme weather and climate disasters become more frequent and deadly, Trump’s gutting of our disaster response will put even more lives in danger.  

Climate Power communications director Alex Glass issued the following statement: 

“Trump claimed his administration did everything in its power to help Texas – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Gutting the forecasting that communities rely on to make life-and-death decisions during extreme weather and eliminating programs that help communities prepare for severe flooding did not help Texas. Creating unnecessary red tape that forces flood victims to wait three days for rescue did not help Texas. Trump failed Texans, and as these climate disasters become more frequent and deadly, his reckless cuts and policies will fail the rest of us too.” 

Trump’s disaster response failed Texans and put lives at risk: 

• Trump gutted weather forecasting, putting at risk the life-saving alerts that communities rely on during extreme weather. Meanwhile, some of Trump’s top NOAA officials would financially benefit from privatizing forecasting. 

• Trump gutted programs and stalled funding that supported communities to prepare for and mitigate extreme weather like flooding. 

• Texas Senator Ted Cruz slashed funding for weather forecasting in the Republican budget bill, and then was on vacation while severe flooding devastated his home state. 

• Trump’s cuts created staffing shortages at local weather service offices, where key roles were vacant before the floods.

• Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to individually approve every FEMA expense over $100,000 delayed critical search and rescue efforts for three days – putting more lives at risk.  

• Trump’s acting FEMA head still has not visited communities impacted by severe flooding in Texas and has made no public statements about it.