Federal Emergency Management Agency workers claim they ran into red tape while trying to assemble resources in response to the catastrophic flooding in central Texas because of new guidelines implemented by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
FEMA officials told CNN they were unable to pre-position Urban Search and Rescue crews from across the country to Texas, as flood waters dramatically rose to levels not seen in decades, destroying children’s summer camps, homes, and putting hundreds of lives at risk.
That was because Noem enacted a new rule requiring any department contract or grant over $100,000 to be personally signed off by her before funds can be utilized, several current FEMA officials told NBC News.
“FEMA doesn’t sneeze without spending that amount of money,” a former official anonymously told NBC News.
The rule, which is meant to cut back spending, could be a major problem for FEMA, which regularly accesses millions of dollars to assist in disaster response and recovery.
“We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it,” an unnamed longtime FEMA official told CNN.
“That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment,” the official added.
Noem eventually approved FEMA’s request on Monday, nearly three days after the initial flooding occurred, sources told CNN.
Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement that the department is taking an “all-hands-on-desk approach to respond to recovery efforts in Kerrville” and “deployed extensive staff to support Texas’ response and recovery operations.
FEMA officials also adopted a more streamlined process to send requests to Noem, creating a task force to speed up the process, two people familiar with the situation told NBC News.
McLaughlin told CNN that Noem did not need to authorize additional FEMA resources initially because the department used other search and rescue assets.
Noem approved the requested FEMA funding as time went on, and there was a need for it, McLaughlin said.
But FEMA officials told the news outlet that they fear the newly implemented rule could have far more devastating consequences when disaster strikes a larger area, or multiple states.
In the area of central Texas where the flooding occurred, at least 120 people have died, including children, and more than 160 people are still missing.
DHS says that Noem’s recent cost-approval change is meant to reduce federal overspending and “empower” states to respond to disasters.
McLaughlin said in a statement “Under Secretary Noem and Acting Administrator Richardson, FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades.”
“DHS is rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars. Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens,” McLaughlin added.
The step appears aligned with President Donald Trump’s larger goal of phasing out FEMA completely.
In June, Trump said he wants to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.”
“A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor,” Trump said.
When confronted with the question over the weekend, Trump softened his stance but did not rule out his plan to axe FEMA.
FEMA is the lead federal agency tasked with responding to disasters and was established during the Carter administration. When a president declares a major disaster or emergency declaration, a state can access critical federal funding to assist in response and recovery.
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