Overview

• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instituted a rule requiring her personal approval for contracts over $100,000, which FEMA officials say stalled the deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the July 4 floods began.
• Internal data show an initial deployment of just 86 FEMA staffers by Monday night, rising to 311 by Tuesday, as aerial imagery requests and call-center support also awaited Noem’s sign-off.
• DHS has publicly denounced CNN’s report as “fake news” while its own statement confirmed the figures and highlighted over 230 Coast Guard rescues and more than 900 lives saved.
• At least 120 people have died and over 150 remain missing after the flash floods devastated Central Texas, with President Trump approving a Major Disaster Declaration hours after Governor Abbott’s request.
• Critics from Congress and disaster experts are pressing for investigations into the delays and questioning the Trump administration’s broader agenda to cut FEMA’s federal role.