At least two people are dead after heavy rains triggered widespread flooding in the New York City area and beyond, officials confirmed on Tuesday, after more than two inches of rain fell in one hour on Monday night, the second-wettest hour ever recorded in the city.
In Plainfield, New Jersey, about 30 miles away from New York City, flooding swept away a vehicle, killing two people inside.
Subway service was delayed on multiple lines Monday night at the height of the storm, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-subway-station-flooding-service-alerts/">reported</a>. The downpour flooded multiple stations in Manhattan.
&#8220;The New York City sewer system, the storm water system, accommodates about an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters an hour,&#8221; Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair and CEO Janno Lieber told CBS News. &#8220;Last night, in that one hour, we had well over 2 inches of rain. So what happens is the system backs up into the subway.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Intense rainfall over New York caused severe flooding in the city, sending water gushing into a subway train platform as authorities issued several flash flood warnings across the New York City metropolitan area <a href="https://t.co/so3YNCJWgg">pic.twitter.com/so3YNCJWgg</a>
— Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1945026799135576435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
The flooding left some riders stranded, while others navigated pools of water on still-functioning platforms. Subway lines restored service Monday night with delays.
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency as multiple counties were under flash flood warnings. He attributed the storm damage to climate change, saying, &#8220;We New Jersey, we America, we the globe, are getting dragged by climate,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07/15/nyregion/new-york-jersey-floods">reported</a>.
Rescue crews pulled drivers from stalled cars while roads shut down. Authorities launched boats into flooded streets after a river overflowed, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-jersey-flash-flooding-rescues/">according</a> to CBS News.
Rafts, a giant truck, and a frontloader rescued people.
Conditions are expected to clear on Tuesday as the storm shifts southward.
The flooding comes after flash floods hit Texas, killing more than 130 people, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-live-updates/?id=123729682">reported</a>. More than 100 people remain missing.

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WATCH: Torrential Rains Flood NYC Subways, 2 Dead in New Jersey

CONTINUE READING

Conservatives criticized NBC News over a report comparing a Republican congressman&#8217;s use of a digital signature with former President Joe Biden&#8217;s use of an autopen to grant presidential pardons.
In an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/lead-investigator-james-comer-biden-autopen-digital-signature-rcna216719">article</a> published on Tuesday with the headline, &#8220;Lead investigator into Biden&#8217;s use of an autopen signed letters with a digital signature,&#8221; the outlet examined letters from Rep. James Comer (R-KY) in Adobe Acrobat and found they were signed digitally. Comer is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Biden&#8217;s use of the autopen.
Biden recently admitted he used the autopen for mass pardons, but &#8220;did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admits-he-used-autopen-for-mass-criminal-pardons-says-he-didnt-review-every-case?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Biden+Admits+He+Used+Autopen+For+Mass+Criminal+Pardons%2C+Says+He+Didn%E2%80%99t+Review+Every+Case">according</a> to The New York Times. Instead, the former president &#8220;signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence.&#8221;
A Comer spokesperson called the comparison &#8220;absurd.&#8221;
&#8220;Using digital signatures for official correspondence is a common practice for both Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives. Chairman Comer has never hidden the fact that he uses a digital signature when appropriate, and he approves all official correspondence that is signed digitally,&#8221; a spokeswoman from the House Oversight Committee told NBC News. &#8220;Legally binding subpoenas issued by Chairman Comer always bear a wet signature and are never signed using an autopen or digital signature. Comparing Chairman Comer’s use of digital signatures for letters to the unauthorized use of an autopen in the Biden White House for legally binding executive actions is absurd and misleading. The two are not even remotely comparable.&#8221;
Later in the story, NBC News noted digital signatures are widely used in Congress.
&#8220;The use of digital signatures has been common in Washington for decades, both in the White House and in Congress,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;Members of Congress and their staff regularly use printed versions of their signatures to respond to the voluminous amount of correspondence they receive.&#8221;
Comer responded to the story on social media.
&#8220;There&#8217;s still time to delete this, Ryan,&#8221; he said in response to one of the report&#8217;s authors, Ryan Nobles. The post included a photoshopped image of Nobles in clown makeup.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
There’s still time to delete this, Ryan. <a href="https://t.co/61bly5fTsW">https://t.co/61bly5fTsW</a> <a href="https://t.co/PIcuiBRpIj">pic.twitter.com/PIcuiBRpIj</a>
&mdash; Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJamesComer/status/1945128228298924064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
Conservatives tore into the outlet on social media.
&#8220;I&#8217;m trying to understand why this was written, other than to push Democrat propaganda and avoid covering the investigation into Biden&#8217;s decline,&#8221; Mollie Hemingway, editor in chief of The Federalist, said. &#8220;Is the argument from @ryanobles and @MZanona that Comer doesn&#8217;t know he&#8217;s sending these letters/subpoenas he talks about all the time?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I&#39;m trying to understand why this was written, other than to push Democrat propaganda and avoid covering the investigation into Biden&#39;s decline. Is the argument from <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanobles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ryanobles</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/MZanona?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MZanona</a> that Comer doesn&#39;t know he&#39;s sending these letters/subpoenas he talks about all the time?
&mdash; Mollie (@MZHemingway) <a href="https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1945117695168373138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;This is easily one of the media&#8217;s lamest attempts to downplay a Democrat scandal,&#8221; GOP communications specialist Greg Price posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Using Adobe Acrobat to sign a letter is totally the same thing as Biden&#39;s un-elected staff using his autopen to issue presidential pardons without his knowledge.&quot; 🤡
This is easily one of the media&#39;s lamest attempts to downplay a Democrat scandal. <a href="https://t.co/cmaHV0B2B1">https://t.co/cmaHV0B2B1</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1945120324955046162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;NBC News has no idea how Adobe Acrobat works. Just amazing,&#8221; conservative pundit Stephen L. Miller said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NBC News has no idea how Adobe Acrobat works. Just amazing. <a href="https://t.co/8kEq7dWAlY">https://t.co/8kEq7dWAlY</a> <a href="https://t.co/ImoJS7VcM8">pic.twitter.com/ImoJS7VcM8</a>
&mdash; Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1945099770802082232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Imagine being so stupid and corrupt as to write this article and think it’s even remotely analogous to a cabal of White House staffers taking advantage of a president with dementia and using his mental infirmity as an excuse to commandeer the powers of the presidency,&#8221; said The Federalist CEO Sean Davis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Imagine being so stupid and corrupt as to write this article and think it’s even remotely analogous to a cabal of White House staffers taking advantage of a president with dementia and using his mental infirmity as an excuse to commandeer the powers of the presidency. <a href="https://t.co/qMidPL7v03">https://t.co/qMidPL7v03</a>
&mdash; Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1945120352943673402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></blockquote>

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NBC Slammed For Comparing Comer’s Digital Signature To Biden’s Autopen Scandal

The editor-in-chief of liberal magazine Mother Jones said the children of Vice President JD Vance should be booed so they &#8220;know now what their father is about.&#8221;
Clara Jeffery posted the comments on Bluesky, a social media app widely used by liberals who left X.
&#8220;People who feel bad for JD Vance&#8217;s kids as family gets booed at Disneyland,&#8221; Jeffery said. &#8220;I get it, but better those kids know now what their father is about. Other kids are watching their parents get shipped off to gulags.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Clara Jeffery, editor in chief of Mother Jones, says that it is for the best that JD Vance’s children be subjected to boos at Disneyland, so that they “know now what their father is about.” <a href="https://t.co/ovHPgKYGsP">pic.twitter.com/ovHPgKYGsP</a>
&mdash; Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/benryanwriter/status/1944801701489258814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
In a second post, Jeffery <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/clarajeffery.bsky.social/post/3ltwwhdkyoc2a">said</a> Vance wants his children to be booed.
&#8220;Also, JD Vance knows he&#8217;s going to be booed at Disneyland or the Kennedy Center or wherever,&#8221; Jeffery said. &#8220;He doesn&#8217;t have to go with his kids, but&#8230;he probably wants the optics of his family being booed. So&#8230;yeah.&#8221;
Jeffery has a history of viral social media posts. Last year, she attacked a flight attendant for wishing passengers a &#8220;blessed night.&#8221;
&#8220;Creeping Christian nationalism alert: @AlaskaAir flight attendant just wished us a &#8216;blessed&#8217; night as we landed in SFO (!) to groans,&#8221; Jeffery said on social media. &#8220;Other adjectives that would have sufficed: great, awesome, fabulous, amazing, fantastic…&#8221;
&#8220;As my rowmate said, &#8216;This ain&#8217;t Montgomery, sweetie,'&#8221; Jeffery added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A legendary figure ever since last year when she had a meltdown because the stewardess wished her a blessed night <a href="https://t.co/1jddEuog78">https://t.co/1jddEuog78</a> <a href="https://t.co/2L3fb7oZvq">pic.twitter.com/2L3fb7oZvq</a>
&mdash; Jarvis (@jarvis_best) <a href="https://twitter.com/jarvis_best/status/1944814304932581521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
In 2017, Jeffery suggested the name &#8220;tomahawk missile&#8221; offended Native Americans.
&#8220;That the missiles are called tomahawks must enrage a lot of Native Americans,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mother-jones-editor-says-tomahawk-missiles-are-joseph-curl">said</a>.
And in 2016, she <a href="https://x.com/neontaster/status/1944819505521189325/photo/1">recounted</a> an anecdote about her 8-year-old supporting Hillary Clinton.
&#8220;8 yo overheard me listening to it and said: &#8216;I hope Hillary Clinton makes history. Women&#8217;s rights are human rights. Go women, go women!'&#8221;
Despite the comments from Jeffery, Vance said he and his family enjoyed their Disneyland vacation. The vice president previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-tries-to-troll-jd-vance-over-family-disney-trip-but-vp-hits-right-back">shot</a> back at criticism from Gov. Gavin Newsom over the trip.
&#8220;Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance,&#8221; Newsom <a href="https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1944155806079042021">said</a> on social media. &#8220;The families you’re tearing apart certainly won&#8217;t.&#8221;
&#8220;Had a great time, thanks,&#8221; Vance <a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/1944433280041808120">replied</a>.

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Mother Jones Editor Says JD Vance’s Kids Should Be Booed

A new high-speed train proposal hopes to link Los Angeles and New York City in time for the FIFA World Cup and celebrations for the United States&#8217; 250th birthday next year.
AmeriStarRail, based in Delaware, proposed the plan to Amtrak, as well as to President Donald Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Congress, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/high-speed-rail-new-york-los-angeles-2093565">according</a> to Newsweek.
The train, called the &#8220;Transcontinental Chief,&#8221; would be funded entirely by private investors, not taxpayers, and would transport both passengers and commercial trucks.
&#8220;The Transcontinental Chief will be a great opportunity for Amtrak to team up with the private sector to confront the challenges of its money-losing long-distance trains and create opportunities to usher in a profitable Golden Age of rail travel for passengers and truckers, with the ingenuity of free enterprise, as we celebrate our great nation&#8217;s 250th birthday next year,&#8221; AmeriStarRail Chief Operating Officer Scott Spencer said in a letter to Amtrak.
The train would rely on existing infrastructure from host railroads and include stops at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and the Grand Canyon. Amtrak has not yet responded to the proposal, Newsweek reported.
The plan contrasts with another high-speed train project in California, which risks losing its federal funding after failing to make progress for more than a decade, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-ready-to-pull-the-plug-on-california-high-speed-rail-boondoggle">reported</a>.
Despite receiving about $4 billion for the 800-mile project since 2010, the state has &#8220;not laid a single high-speed track,&#8221; <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-releases-report-exposing-no-viable-path">according</a> to the Trump administration.
When voters approved the project in 2008, the estimated cost was $33 billion. Now, the projected cost has swelled to $128 billion, leaving California about $100 billion short, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-21/high-speed-rail">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.
The state is currently trying to build the first segment of the project, a 119-mile track connecting Merced to Bakersfield. The estimated completion date is 2033, but the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) says the state doesn&#8217;t have &#8220;a viable path&#8221; to finishing the first phase by the deadline.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who promoted the train when he was mayor of San Francisco, said in May that workers have begun the first phase of the project, &#8220;laying the tracks to get to where they start to lay the tracks.&#8221;
&#8220;It’s a technical way of actually doing the development in phases, so real tracks are being laid, and the formal track that will be the first-in-the-nation high-speed rail track is about to take place,&#8221; Newsom said.
A California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) spokesperson told The Daily Wire in June that the agency remains &#8220;firmly committed&#8221; to the project.
In its response to the FRA, the CHSRA disputed the findings and requested that the agency withdraw the proposed termination of federal funds.
&#8220;The Authority’s work has already reshaped the Central Valley,&#8221; the CHSRA&#8217;s response said. &#8220;We have built many of the viaducts, overpasses, and underpasses on which the first 119 miles of high-speed rail track will run.&#8221;

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Proposed ‘High-Speed’ Train Would Bring Passengers From NYC To L.A. In Three Days

A recent CNN report <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/politics/fema-texas-flood-noem">blamed</a> Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for delaying the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the Texas flash floods. But the outlet ignored FEMA’s decades-long history of delays and mismanagement.
In the article, anonymous FEMA officials said recent changes to the organization caused delays in its ability to send aid to Texas. Most of the blame fell on Noem’s new rule requiring her personal sign-off on all grants and contracts of more than $100,000.
“We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it,” one FEMA official told CNN. “That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.”
Noem <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/noem-rips-cnn-report-claiming-delayed-dhs-response-texas-flood-absolutely-trash">told</a> “Fox &amp; Friends” the CNN story was “absolutely trash,” noting that &#8220;Our Coast Guard, our Border Patrol BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) teams were there immediately. Every single thing they asked for, we were there.&#8221;
But Democrats have used the story to criticize the Trump administration’s response to the Texas floods, which have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-tours-texas-flood-zone-as-death-toll-reaches-121">killed</a> at least 121 people.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) <a href="https://x.com/RepMoskowitz/status/1943029363412267023">blamed</a> “dramatic cuts&#8221; to FEMA and the National Weather Service for a poor federal response to the flood.
But meteorologists say there is no evidence that federal cuts delayed warnings or response times, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/theres-no-evidence-to-suggest-doge-cuts-caused-texas-flood-devastation-meteorologists-say">reported</a>.
“There is little evidence that any of the recent cuts to NOAA/NWS negatively impacted services for this event, regardless of what may be being said on social media,” <a href="https://balancedweather.substack.com/p/balancedwx-special-tragic-flash-flooding">said</a> Alan Gerard, a former director of the Analysis and Understanding Branch in the National Severe Storms Laboratory at NOAA.
Moskowitz still <a href="https://x.com/RepMoskowitz/status/1943465531690094828/photo/1">called</a> for an investigation into Noem’s &#8220;&#8216;cost-control&#8217; policy.&#8221;
“As a result, this policy stripped FEMA of its ability to act in real time and delayed every major aspect of the response,” Moskowitz said in his letter.
During a congressional hearing on FEMA in November 2024, Moskowitz <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fema-on-trial-congress-probes-fema-head-for-discriminating-against-trump-supporters">said</a> the DHS was “too big” and recommended the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut down the agency.
Both CNN and Moskowitz ignored FEMA’s long history of inefficient and inadequate disaster response, including most recently under former President Joe Biden
After Hurricane Milton devastated the South in September 2024, The Daily Wire exposed a FEMA supervisor who told workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid.
The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, was fired after The Daily Wire broke the story.
In a later <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5SP0jIZPs0">interview</a> with Roland Martin, Washington <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fired-fema-employee-speaks-out-says-it-was-not-isolated-incident-colossal-event-of-avoidance">said</a> it was not an “isolated” incident.
“FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation, so this is not isolated,” Washington said. “This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.”
In March, FEMA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/3-more-fema-employees-fired-after-probe-into-guidance-to-skip-trump-homes">fired</a> three more employees as part of an agency investigation into Washington’s guidance.
The scandal was part of a pattern of FEMA mismanagement throughout both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, which occurred during Biden’s administration.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-a-small-tennessee-town-survived-helene-after-the-emergency-response-floundered">visited</a> Roan Mountain, a town in eastern Tennessee, and was told it took almost two weeks after the hurricane for a FEMA worker to deliver forms residents could use to apply for aid.
Amid hurricane disaster cleanup efforts, Biden Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas came under fire for saying FEMA “[did] not have the funds to make it through the [hurricane] season.”
The criticism came as FEMA was in the spotlight for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/karine-jean-pierre-falsely-claims-fema-is-not-funding-migrant-resettlement-amid-hurricane-helene">spending</a> hundreds of millions of dollars to house illegal immigrants.
As a result of those problems with the agency, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-rolls-out-fema-taskforce-to-fix-terribly-broken-emergency-system">signed</a> an executive order in January establishing a FEMA review council.
The council’s goal is to return power to state-level emergency managers.
In a Homeland Security Committee meeting, Noem said the council wants to empower states.
“We know that not every single state is prepared today to take over their emergency operations, that’s why the president has been clear that he wants to empower states, give them the opportunity to build out their response, to also sign [Memorandums of Understanding] with surrounding states, and other resources they can use to best serve their people,” Noem said. “He just doesn’t believe that FEMA has been successful in being there in a time of crisis for people.”
During her confirmation hearing in January, Noem <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/noem-promises-to-keep-politics-out-of-dhs-when-asked-about-fema-scandal">said</a> there would be no discrimination in disaster relief distribution.
“Under President Trump’s administration, disaster and emergency relief will not be handed out with political bias,” Noem said. “Every American will be responded to and treated equally.”
FEMA has also been criticized for spending money on illegal immigrants instead of disaster relief. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency said it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musks-says-fema-spent-60m-housing-illegal-immigrants-in-luxury-hotels-last-week">discovered</a> millions of FEMA dollars spent on housing illegal immigrants in “luxury” New York City hotels in February.
“That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!” Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1888891512303263815">said</a> on X. “A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds.”
As of March 2025, many North Carolina residents were still waiting for aid from FEMA, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/months-after-hurricane-helene-many-grow-frustrated-as-they-still-wait-for-federal-aid">according</a> to PBS.
All of these issues within the agency have been discovered over the past year. But FEMA’s problems go back decades.
“Many times you’ve seen over the years where the federal government has not shown up when they were expected to, and then even after a crisis was over, had committed to being there to help people restructure and to rebuild, and never followed through on it,” Noem said.
The secretary said FEMA is still processing decades-old claims.
“We still have claims outstanding in FEMA from Hurricane Katrina,” Noem <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://house.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=98549d605f077248c2019d3db&amp;id=a17d47e3e0&amp;e=8ce9f5c341__;!!Bg5easoyC-OII2vlEqY8mTBrtW-N4OJKAQ!InMlsFua06qV6TFA3R8OpewExhNAnHSAQWDeLSBWYtUjqWEaj0d_D34LYR74KuB15nL_GnpSuzFdf8mvfZicyFRcP4gTvCagbfapsNp_Ef8l9Xb7lVdJJJc$">said</a>. “Wildfire claims from out West that are 10 years old, where people said, ‘We have this claim, this loss. FEMA committed to pay it and still has not followed through on it.’”
A bipartisan House committee investigated the federal government’s preparedness for and response to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans in 2005. Its findings, published in a report <a href="https://www.congress.gov/109/crpt/hrpt377/CRPT-109hrpt377.pdf">titled</a> “A Failure of Initiative,” found that FEMA was neither trained nor prepared to deal with a crisis on the scale of Katrina.
The report cited disorganization, a lack of preparedness, and staffing shortages as reasons for FEMA’s poor response to the hurricane.
“For years emergency management professionals have been warning that FEMA’s preparedness has eroded,” the report said. “Many believe this erosion is a result of the separation of the preparedness function from FEMA, the drain of long-term professional staff along with their institutional knowledge and expertise, and the inadequate readiness of FEMA’s national emergency response teams.”
FEMA was also criticized over its handling of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when delays in federal aid led a local emergency management director to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/hurricane-andrew-remembered-20-years-later/">demand</a>, “Where the h*** is the cavalry on this one?”
Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-promises-overhaul-of-fema-floats-getting-rid-of-agency">supported</a> moving the responsibility for disaster relief to the states, with the federal government funding a percentage of the response.
“I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” Trump said in January during a visit to Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina. “I think when you have a problem like this, I think you want to … use your state to fix it and not waste time.”
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.

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CNN Blames Trump Admin For Texas FEMA Delays, Ignores Agency’s Horrible Track Record

A Texas pediatrician apologized after being fired for a Facebook comment saying Texas flood victims who supported President Donald Trump got &#8220;what they voted for.&#8221;
Christina B. Propst, who had been employed by Blue Fish Pediatrics, <a href="https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2025/07/07/houston-pediatrician-fired-after-controversial-post-about-kerr-county-flood-victims/">said</a> in a statement to KPRC that her &#8220;regrettable comment was in no way a response to the tragic loss of human life.&#8221;
&#8220;Unfortunately, my online comment is now being shared with the false impression that I made it after the devastating loss of life was known,&#8221; Propst said. &#8220;I did not.&#8221;
Propst said she deleted the comment after she learned of the fatalities, which include dozens of children.
Although it&#8217;s unclear when Propst posted her comment, the earliest news on July 4 reported fatalities, including children attending a girls&#8217; Christian camp.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flooding-in-texas-causes-multiple-fatalities-as-guadalupe-river-surges-to-record-levels">reported</a> early that morning that &#8220;multiple people [were] reportedly dead.&#8221;
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/thunderstorms-texas-deaths-camp-mystic-trees-hail-e8a4c85c77f714c9a974e50f3cd1fca1">published</a> a July 4 story detailing the known fatalities, reporting that multiple children were dead or missing.
In the now-deleted comment, Propst said she hoped non-MAGA voters remained safe during the flooding.
“May all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters, and pets be safe and dry,” she said under the Facebook user name, Chris Tina. “Kerr County MAGA voted to gut FEMA. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for. Bless their hearts.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is the sort of pediatric clinician employed at <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueFishMD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueFishMD</a> in Houston. The ethics, humanity and empathy illustrated here is unfathomable. <a href="https://t.co/yW0TbEMGN7">pic.twitter.com/yW0TbEMGN7</a>
&mdash; Dr. Lynn Fynn-derella🐭 (@Fynnderella1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fynnderella1/status/1941567217155571958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
Blue Fish Pediatrics issued a statement Sunday saying Propst was &#8220;no longer employed,&#8221; The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-pediatrician-fired-after-saying-maga-flood-victims-got-what-they-voted-for">reported</a>.
&#8220;We do not support or condone any statement that politicizes tragedy, diminishes human dignity, or fails to clearly uphold compassion for every child and family, regardless of background or beliefs,&#8221; the statement said.
Multiple Democrats have repeated the claim that funding cuts and staff shortages at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) contributed to the death toll.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) took shots at the Trump administration on X.
&#8220;Accurate weather forecasting helps avoid fatal disasters,&#8221; Murphy said in a <a href="https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1941571878105297216">post</a>. &#8220;There are consequences to Trump’s brainless attacks on public workers, like meteorologists.&#8221;
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) echoed Murphy&#8217;s claims in a letter, <a href="https://x.com/RossOKeefe2/status/1942180517396336816/photo/1">calling</a> for an investigation into whether staff shortages hindered response times.
But experts say the reductions did not directly affect response times.
“There is little evidence that any of the recent cuts to NOAA/NWS negatively impacted services for this event, regardless of what may be being said on social media,” <a href="https://balancedweather.substack.com/p/balancedwx-special-tragic-flash-flooding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Alan Gerard, a former director of the Analysis and Understanding Branch in the National Severe Storms Laboratory at NOAA.
Jason Runyen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-floods-hill-country-weather-warnings-238d4325bb58f0b410015f74684738b6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the local weather service had additional staff on hand to prepare for potential flooding.
“There were extra people in here that night, and that’s typical in every weather service office — you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over,” Runyen said.
President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-confirms-plans-to-visit-flood-stricken-texas-as-170-people-still-missing">said</a> he plans to travel to Texas on Friday to meet with flood victims. The flash floods have killed at least 110 people, and more than 170 people are still missing.

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Texas Doctor Who Said ‘MAGA’ Flood Victims Got ‘What They Voted For’ Apologizes After Getting Canned

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