Overview
- Republican lawmakers say Kristi Noem’s requirement to personally approve DHS contracts over $100,000 is slowing FEMA funding and straining outreach to Congress.
- Sen. Ted Budd maintains a hold on all DHS nominees over delays in aid to Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, while Sen. Shelley Moore Capito reports at least one slow-walked grant in West Virginia.
- DHS defends the policy as fiscal reform, citing roughly $50 million in daily savings and $13.2 billion saved in Noem’s first seven months.
- Operational strains include the resignation of FEMA’s urban search-and-rescue chief after the Kerr County, Texas floods and a brief lapse in the interstate mutual-aid program that was quickly renewed.
- Hill aides describe difficulty reaching Noem and note she did not commit to a key threats hearing before it was postponed, as a White House official praises DHS performance under her leadership.