House Democrats addressed a letter to President Donald Trump and weather infrastructure officials on Friday, expressing “deep concern” about the flooding in Kerr County, Texas, and the “structural shortcomings at the federal, state, and local levels that contributed to the tragic loss of life.”
It comes as Trump toured disaster areas alongside local officials on Friday.
Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, and Eric Sorenson of Illinois wrote to the president and Laura Grimm, who is performing the duties of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as Lt. Gen. William Graham Jr., the Chief of Engineers.
“This tragedy echoes a troubling national pattern of accelerating flash flood disasters that have claimed lives,” the members of Congress wrote, noting the 46 killed in New York in September 2021, the 45 who died in July 2022, the 20 killed in Tennessee in August 2021, and the 250 who died across the Southeast in September of last year.
“These events are not anomalies—they are harbingers of a climate-disrupted future,” they stated.
Doggett represents a district in the Austin, Texas area, hours from the flood epicenter in Kerr County. Sorensen is a meteorologist.
They shared concerns that cuts mandated by the Department of Government Efficiency to the National Weather Service had delayed warnings regarding the floods in Texas. At least 121 people have died, and more than 160 remain missing.
“While the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast may have been accurate, accurate weather forecasts are not enough,” the House Democrats wrote. “It is imperative that these warnings are adequately communicated to members of the public and in a way that prompts the appropriate lifesaving action by emergency managers, first responders, and the public at-large. We are concerned that there seems to have been a breakdown at this stage starting with the first flash flood watches issued on Thursday afternoon.”
The lawmakers noted the NWS has lost almost 15 percent of its nationwide staff since January.
“The forecast accuracy and timeliness during this event in Texas was a testament to the dedication of the local NWS staff who flexed their schedules to ensure adequate coverage during such a high-impact event,” they wrote. “That is not a sustainable solution, nor is it reliable enough for the increasing incidence of dangerous weather events.”
The vacancies may have complicated efforts to work with officials on the local levels, The New York Times has reported. Some of the unfilled positions stem from before Trump’s second term.
The legislators called on NOAA and the Army Corps of Engineers to outline plans to adapt federal weather services to what they referred to as “the growing frequency of extreme precipitation events attributable to climate change.”
Trump visited Kerrville on Friday, meeting with Texas officials, as he toured the damage from last week’s deadly flash floods.
Alongside First Lady Melania Trump, the president shook hands with first responders. More than two dozen girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp died in the floods. Trump took part in an aerial tour of the Guadalupe River along with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz, and other officials.
Trump visited the state as Texas lawmakers are facing increasing scrutiny over the handling of the floods and the state’s warning systems.
The president took part in a roundtable discussion with local officials, comparing the death toll and devastation to previous natural disasters he has seen during his time in office.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Trump. “A little narrow river that becomes a monster.”
He went on to note that “dozens and dozens of precious children” had been “taken from us.”
Phil McGraw, the TV personality known as Dr. Phil, took part in the discussion, saying, "We know psychologically that the number one stressor that we can experience in life is the loss of a child.”
"And the worst situation that we can experience is when it's sudden and when it's violent. That's the worst thing that can happen, stress-wise, in life,” he added.
It was unclear why the TV personality attended the roundtable.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Acting Administrator David Richardson has been absent during the federal response to the floods in Texas, and he was not present for the discussion.
The Trump administration has pushed back against the criticism that its previous cuts led to a slower response amid growing pushback against the administration’s previous calls to eliminate FEMA.
A White House official told NewsNation on Friday that a FEMA review council is planning to “reform” the agency, rather than closing it down.
“While Federal assistance was always intended to supplement state actions, not replace those actions, FEMA’s outsized role created a bloated bureaucracy that disincentivized state investment in their own resilience,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the outlet.
