Claim: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government agency that provides immediate life-saving assistance to survivors of a disaster, failed to answer thousands of calls following deadly flash floods in Texas.
Rating: This claim is TRUE.
Documents reviewed by the New York Times show that FEMA did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance line because the agency had fired hundreds of contractors at call centers.
These workers were fired because of new rules instated by the Trump administration to root out “waste and fraud” in the federal government.
FEMA officials had previously warned that these rules could hurt disaster response efforts that require speed and agility, choke off critical aid, and prevent the department from functioning.
Michael Coen, FEMA’s former chief of staff, said that grant cuts imposed by the Trump administration may have caused “an unnecessary loss of life” in Central Texas.
What happened?
On July 4, “devastating and deadly” flash floods roared through Central Texas, forcing hundreds of Texans to evacuate their homes and killing at least 135 people.
On July 5, FEMA answered nearly 99.7% of the 3,027 calls to its disaster assistance line, the New York Times reported. Then, that evening, the agency laid off hundreds of contractors whose contracts had expired and were not renewed.
Kristi Noem, Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), did not renew the expired contracts until five days later. Noem instituted a rule in June that she must personally approve every DHS contract and grant over $100,000.
During those five days, FEMA struggled to answer calls and to deploy response and search-and-rescue teams. On July 6, the agency answered roughly 35% of calls. On July 7, it only answered about 15%. Some survivors say they were turned away or denied help.
Why was this rule instated?
The DHS defended Noem’s new policy as necessary to root out cases of “waste, fraud and abuse”, which is part of Trump’s larger campaign to finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts by reducing federal spending and slashing the size of the government.
FEMA uses less than 1% of the annual federal budget, about $29.5 billion in fiscal year 2023. Meanwhile, Trump’s latest budget bill gave ICE a massive budget increase at $100 billion a year, making it by far the federal government’s highest-funded law enforcement agency.
Former FEMA officials have warned that Trump’s new policies and grant cuts have left the agency dangerously underresourced and ill-equipped to deal with disasters.
FEMA has lost about a quarter of its staff, including its most experienced leaders, since Trump took office in January.
How else might Trump change FEMA?
Trump previously said he wants to “phase out” FEMA by the end of the 2025 hurricane season in November. He described the agency as a “very expensive, in my opinion, mostly failed situation.”
After the Texas floods, Trump called for overhauling the agency. He said in June that FEMA will provide less disaster-related assistance to states.
FEMA plays a crucial role in helping states prepare for disasters, providing on-the-ground help, and funding billions of dollars for repairs. Officials warn that state governments cannot handle these responsibilities on their own.
The White House stated on July 11 that “further changes to FEMA will be determined and announced in the near future.”