CNN is pointing fingers at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over delays in the federal response to catastrophic flooding in Texas—but critics say the network is ignoring FEMA’s decades-long track record of incompetence and mismanagement.
In a recent report, CNN cited anonymous FEMA officials who claim a new Trump administration policy requiring Noem’s personal approval for grants over $100,000 hampered FEMA’s ability to respond swiftly. One official lamented the shift away from the agency’s traditional “lean forward” posture, suggesting that the rule created uncertainty during a crisis.
Noem, however, pushed back hard on the accusations.
“That story is absolutely trash,” she said in an interview with Fox News. “Our Coast Guard, our Border Patrol tactical teams were on the ground immediately. Every single thing that was asked for—we delivered.”
Democrats have seized on CNN’s report to attack the Trump administration, with Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) claiming the response was slowed by “dramatic cuts” to FEMA and the National Weather Service. However, meteorologists, including former NOAA official Alan Gerard, say there’s no evidence those budget changes impacted flood warnings or response times.
Moskowitz demanded an investigation into Noem’s “cost-control” measures, accusing her of stripping FEMA’s authority to act in real-time. Ironically, just months ago, Moskowitz himself called for slashing FEMA’s budget and restructuring DHS as part of the DOGE Act’s push for leaner government.
What CNN and its Democrat allies are ignoring is FEMA’s long, bipartisan history of blunders—most of which predate the Trump administration.
During Hurricane Milton in 2024, The Daily Wire exposed a FEMA supervisor who instructed staff to avoid homes with pro-Trump signs while distributing aid in Florida. That employee, Marn’i Washington, was fired—but later admitted the behavior wasn’t isolated.
“You’ll find avoidance not just in Florida, but in the Carolinas, too,” she said.
The agency’s failures were also on full display during Hurricane Helene, when FEMA took nearly two weeks to deliver aid applications to parts of Tennessee. And under the Biden administration, then-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA didn’t have the funds to get through hurricane season—while the agency was simultaneously spending hundreds of millions to house illegal aliens in luxury hotels in New York City.
That scandal triggered a review by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which uncovered millions of dollars meant for Americans redirected to house illegal immigrants.
In response to years of dysfunction, President Trump signed an executive order in January creating a FEMA review council to return more power to state-level emergency managers. Noem said the goal is simple: empower states to respond more effectively and hold FEMA accountable.
“FEMA has not been successful in showing up for people in a time of crisis,” Noem told lawmakers. “We still have unpaid claims going back to Hurricane Katrina. Some wildfire claims in the West are over 10 years old.”
FEMA’s failures are not new. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, a bipartisan House committee called the response a “failure of initiative,” citing disorganization, poor training, and chronic understaffing. Similar criticism followed Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when local officials blasted the federal government for being missing in action.
Despite these failures, CNN has opted to focus its blame squarely on Noem and the Trump administration—ignoring decades of evidence showing FEMA’s systemic problems began long before Trump took office.
President Trump has made clear he wants a new approach.
“Frankly, FEMA is not good,” he said during a January visit to North Carolina. “When you have a crisis like this, you want to let your state take the lead and not waste time.”