The Department of Homeland Security lashed out at CNN after the network reported Wednesday that Secretary Kristi Noem waited three days to send resources to Texas following the deadly flood over the weekend.
CNN reported, citing four agency officials, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, ran into immediate bureaucratic obstacles when it tried to respond to the floods. One of the hurdles is that Noem implemented a new rule requiring all agency expenditures over $100,000 to be approved by her. Since flood response costs can soar into the billions, that meant Noem needed to sign off on all agency expenditures before resources could be delivered to Texas.
Those approvals didn't arrive until more than 72 hours after the flood began, according to CNN.
But DHS forcefully denied the report.
"This is a FAKE NEWS LIE from CNN," DHS posted on its official X account. "This reporting is an unapparelled (sic) display of activist journalism and distracts from the robust, coordinated federal response led by Secretary Noem that has saved over 900+ lives."
"[Secretary Noem] is leading a historic, first-of-its-kind approach to disaster funding: putting states first by providing upfront recovery support — moving money faster than ever and jump starting recovery. This is a breakthrough in how FEMA supports state-led disaster recovery," the post continues.
President Donald Trump's administration has made strides to make states responsible for disaster relief efforts instead of the federal government. Trump has called on administration officials to shutter FEMA and cut billions in funding for disaster relief in his mega budget bill.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is reforming FEMA to prioritize state-led, locally executed disaster response, as Texas has exemplified," the DHS post reads.