As monstrous floodwaters surged across central Texas late last week, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and life-saving resources, like they have in countless past disasters.
But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles, four officials inside the agency told CNN.
As CNN has previously reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released.
For FEMA, where disaster response costs routinely soar into the billions as the agency contracts with on-the-ground crews, officials say that threshold is essentially “pennies,” requiring sign-off for relatively small expenditures
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In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams, which are specifically trained for situations including catastrophic floods, closer to a disaster zone in anticipation of urgent requests, multiple agency sources told CNN.
But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN..
So what was occupying ICE Ice Barbie while central Texas was flooding? She was fucking around on Instagram with proposals for her official portrait as the SD governor.
So do the MAGAs understand that the Trump-Musk-DOGE cuts directly affects them? Or are they still obsessed with arresting the brown people?
ReplyDeleteRed states will suffer as they get the worst cuts, cannot afford it
ReplyDeletethemselves, and also get all the bad weather. You think they'd have thought about it but noooo!
Tiny barbie leaves them with hopes and prayers. A small person
with small ideas.
Eck!
Heck of a job Kristi!
ReplyDelete