It was not immediately clear how FEMA’s responsiveness to calls after the Texas floods compared to its performance after past disasters. FEMA does not publicly release that data on a regular basis.
The agency did publish similar data on Oct. 29, 2024, days after Hurricane Helene barreled across the South and nearly three weeks after Hurricane Milton hit Florida. That information showed that the agency did not answer nearly half of the 507,766 incoming calls over the course of a week, E & E News reported.
Democratic lawmakers raised concern on Friday that Ms. Noem’s insistence on approving expenses over $100,000 had also delayed FEMA’s deployment of search-and-rescue teams to Texas. In a letter to David Richardson, FEMA’s acting administrator, the Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wrote that Ms. Noem did not authorize the deployment of those teams until July 7, three days after the flooding began.
Mr. Richardson, who has no background in emergency management, has not made any public appearances since his appointment on May 8, breaking with a long tradition of FEMA leaders meeting with local officials in the wake of disasters. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump traveled on Friday to Kerrville, Texas, a community along the Guadalupe River that has become a hub for search and recovery efforts.
While Mr. Trump has talked of eliminating FEMA since he took office, White House officials have recently expressed a desire to overhaul the agency. Mr. Trump and others in his administration have indicated they want to shift more responsibility — and cost — to states.
“We also want FEMA to be reformed,” Russell T. Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget told reporters on Friday. “We want FEMA to work well. And, you know, the president is going to continue to be asking tough questions from all of his agencies.”