Overview

• CNN reported that Secretary Kristi Noem’s new rule requiring her sign-off on expenditures over $100,000 caused a more than 72-hour hold on federal aid for Texas flood victims.
• DHS posted on X that the CNN story is “a fake news lie” and defended its “robust, coordinated” response that officials say has already saved over 900 lives.
• The department argues the state-first approach provides upfront recovery support and moves money faster than ever by prioritizing locally led operations.
• Critics warn that routing every large expenditure through the secretary could bottleneck urgent relief and undermine FEMA’s responsiveness.
• The dispute underscores the Trump administration’s broader push to shift disaster-relief authority and funding to states even as Congress weighs FEMA’s future role.