Overview

• FEMA officially renewed call-center contracts that had lapsed five days earlier after expiring on July 5, restoring hundreds of operators.
• The lapse left thousands of assistance calls unanswered, with the agency’s answer rate falling from more than 99% on July 5 to just 16% on July 7.
• Noem’s June policy requiring her personal sign-off on FEMA expenses above $100,000 is linked to a 72-hour delay in deploying urban search-and-rescue teams to Central Texas.
• Noem has dismissed media reports of delays as “false reporting” and “fake news,” insisting FEMA responded within hours.
• Senators from both parties have demanded accountability through formal probes and at least one lawmaker has urged Noem’s resignation over the agency’s handling of flood relief.