Senate Democrat questions Noem on reported Texas flooding response delay

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) called a reported Department of Homeland Security policy that Secretary Kristi Noem personally approve significant purchases “one of the stupidest decisions and policies I’ve ever heard of” as questions swirl about the federal response to deadly flash floods in Texas.

“For an administration that tries to talk about red tape, they are adding red tape here. They are adding bureaucracy,” the New Jersey Democrat said during an MSNBC appearance Thursday. “This is a terrible idea to bottleneck.”

Kim, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Committee and serves as ranking Democrat on its disaster management subpanel, also took aim at the policy in a letter to Noem asking her department for its hurricane response plan for the 2025 season, which began in June.

CNN and The Washington Post reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to the floods, which have killed more than 120 people, was hamstrung by a DHS budget restriction that required Noem to approve every purchase, grant and contract over $100,000.

The policy, which was previously reported by CNN in June, meant FEMA was slowed in positioning and deploying search and rescue teams as well as other resources. Those teams were reportedly not authorized until Monday, 72 hours after the flooding. Texas deployed its own disaster response to the floods, now among the deadliest weather events in state history.

DHS has forcefully pushed back against CNN’s reporting, calling it a “FAKE NEWS LIE.” Noem also ripped the news organization in a Thursday Fox News appearance.

“It's absolutely trash what they are doing by saying that,” Noem said. “Every single thing they asked for, we were there.”

In his letter to Noem, Kim asked DHS to detail how FEMA could be able to respond to hurricanes without being “hindered” by Noem’s purchase approval policy.

“This added layer of bureaucracy threatens to delay work that could mean the difference between life and death for disaster victims, and it is unclear how FEMA will be able to comply with this directive without sacrificing its duty to protect people before, during, and after disasters,” he wrote.

The Wall Street Journal in June reported that FEMA had decided to revert to the hurricane plan it developed in 2024. Agency administrator David Richardson reportedly told staff he didn’t want to make new guidance that could contradict proposals from a new FEMA review council headed by Noem.