Sen. Ted Cruz has denied that cuts to the National Weather Service have contributed to the Texas floods death toll, which so far stands at 89 people.
Speaking to reporters on Monday (7 July), the Republican said that whilst in time he believes it would be “reasonable to engage on what could have been done better”, he slammed the “cynical” claims that cuts to the weather service under the Trump administration are to blame.
He said: “Immediately trying for either side to attack their political opponents - I think that’s cynical and not the right approach particularly when we’re dealing with a crisis and we’re dealing with grief.”
Experts have previously warned that the Trump administration’s decision to fire around 600 people from the agency could have drastic impacts on its ability to issue accurate forecasts.
