By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration’s response to the Texas flash floods, attributing the delayed warning to outdated technology and highlighting ongoing upgrades. Noem deflected criticism by stating the administration is working to fix neglected systems, shifting blame to previous administrations. While acknowledging concerns regarding cuts to weather research labs, she assured reporters she would convey these issues to President Trump. The report also mentioned recent cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service as well as Trump’s plans to phase out FEMA.
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ICE Barbie Dodges Blame for Disastrous Texas Flooding on Trump’s Watch
ICE Barbie, or whatever you want to call her, certainly tried to wriggle her way out of taking responsibility for the devastating Texas floods. It seems like the whole affair was a perfect storm of Republican policy failures, and she was caught right in the middle of it. The details, though, are what really paint a grim picture.
First, let’s talk about the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). This program, crucial for monitoring the kind of overnight, rapid weather changes that fueled the flooding, was essentially shut down under the Trump administration. The excuse? The Department of Defense didn’t want to foot the bill for a satellite array that was seen as more useful for civilian purposes. So, when the weather forecast predicted 7 inches of rain, and it almost doubled overnight due to those unmonitored changes, the technology to flag it was unavailable.
Compounding the problem, the local NOAA office saw a 10% workforce reduction in just six months. This left them 22% understaffed, so even the team of scientists couldn’t manually catch the storm’s intensification because their radars couldn’t do their job anymore. This is what defunding science looks like – a slow creep of inefficiency that eventually results in catastrophe. And when people try to say, “The budget cuts don’t take effect until October! It wasn’t Trump’s fault!” just remember the DMSP.
Why is this woman even speaking on this matter? What does immigration have to do with disaster prevention and relief? The reality is that the Republican approach to governance just hasn’t been working. There is no accountability. Consider Trump’s famous response to a question about where the buck stops: “The buck stops with everybody”.
Adding to the disaster, the lack of weather balloon deployment is significant. One weather balloon was launched on Thursday, while four are typically deployed for a hurricane. This could have made all the difference. We’re talking about 30 children dead due to these policies and the failures of Texas officials. The GOP never takes responsibility. The NWS is criminally understaffed, and FEMA is broke. The US Geological Survey, which monitors river gauges, was also slashed. Furthermore, the Defense Department is no longer providing satellite weather data, which should have been crucial information for hurricane forecasters.
The governor appears more concerned with other issues. The administration is filled with inexperienced people who are in over their heads. Cuts to NWS and NOAA really impacted this disaster in a bad way. Hundreds of critical positions have been cut in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy. This is a pathetic administration.
The Texas Governor should have seen this coming. Has her boss said anything? Flood zones are more predictable than fire zones.