White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded on Monday to reports claiming that the National Weather Service was understaffed due to recent budget cuts from the Trump Administration.
“Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” she told reporters.
“In the lead up to this tragic natural disaster, the National Weather Service did its job. Despite unprecedented rainfall, the National Weather Service executed timely and precise forecasts and warnings,” Leavitt added.
“On July 3rd, the National Weather Service office in Austin [and] San Antonio, Texas, conducted forecast briefings for emergency management in the morning and issued a flood watch in the early afternoon,” Leavitt continued. “Flash flood warnings were also issued on the night of July 3rd and in the early morning of July 4th, giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before flash flooding conditions occurred. The National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during the storms, despite claims of the contrary.”
“So to any person who has deliberately lied about these facts surrounding this catastrophic event, you should be deeply ashamed,” Leavitt declared. “At this time, the administration’s focus will be giving on giving the victims and their communities the support they deserve during these recovery efforts in this tragic time.”
Watch the clips below:
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt debunked the media narrative that tedisaster readiness was harmed by DOGE cuts to NOAA:
"We have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats, such as senator Chuck Schumer and members of the media, blaming President Trump for these floods is a… pic.twitter.com/Zy8iq3pygQ
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) July 7, 2025
🚨 JUST IN: Karoline Leavitt SLAMS the fake news for lying about cuts to National Weather Service staffing during the Texas floods
“The San Angelo office was fully staffed with 12 forecast meteorologists … The San Antonio office was operating with 11 forecasters.”
MSM LIES! pic.twitter.com/vO7MqkZs3D
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 7, 2025
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox & Friends on Monday that the National Weather Service “did send out notifications” about the Texas flooding and “gave as much time as they could with the tools that they have,” but the agency is operating on an “ancient system” that needs upgrading.
“The National Weather Service under President Trump has been working to put in new technology and a new system because it’s been neglected for years. It’s an ancient system that needed to be upgraded,” she said.
“We can continue to learn from every single situation, but know that during these times when we are trying to help people heal from situations like this, the best thing to do is to look and see how we can help and how we can walk alongside people and get them some relief and make sure that we’re doing all that we can to be more proactive in the future, but get through this terrible time right now as well,” Noem added.
Watch the clip below:
WATCH: @kristinoem highlights on @foxandfriends the urgent need for weather alert system upgrades after catastrophic floods claimed the lives of at least 82 people in Texas, prompting @realDonaldTrump to sign a major disaster declaration. pic.twitter.com/1RN0MU0Ad0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 7, 2025
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