FEMA Officials Slam Noem's Texas Flood Response
Noem's DHS, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is defending its approach after four FEMA officials told CNN that a new cost-cutting measure requiring her personal sign-off on any contract or grant over $100,000 impeded on the agency's ability to swiftly respond in Central Texas, where around 120 people have died and more than 160 remain missing following flash floods. 'We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it,' a longtime FEMA employee told the network. 'That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.'
The officials told CNN that Noem's new policy stopped them from quickly deploying Urban Search and Rescue teams, which Noem didn't authorize until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began and when more than 100 people were confirmed dead. Documents reviewed by CNN also found that by Monday night, a mere 86 FEMA staffers had been deployed to Texas. The FEMA employees also said the new policy stopped them from quickly providing Texas officials with aerial imagery in the flood area and bringing in additional support staff at disaster call centers.
When reached for comment on those officials' concerns, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the department has taken an 'all-hands-on-deck' approach to recovery efforts, saying the department has deployed 'extensive' staff and a liaison officer to Kerrville, Texas, though she did not provide any specific numbers when asked. Much of McLaughlin's response focused on the Trump administration's efforts to scale back FEMA, an agency Noem and Trump have said they want to shut down entirely while leaving disaster response to the states.
'FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,' McLaughlin said. DHS did not immediately respond when asked to name specific failures.
'DHS is rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars. Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the US taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens,' McLaughlin's statement continued.
Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden's takeaway from the CNN report was blunt. 'Kids in Texas died as a direct result of Kristi Noem's negligence. She should be removed from office before her incompetence gets Oregonians killed in a wildfire,' he wrote on social media.
Another major question mark in DHS's response is the whereabouts of FEMA Administrator David Richardson, who has not issued any public statements about the floods and does not appear to have visited Texas. When HuffPost asked FEMA on Tuesday where he was, the agency said any information about his travel would be 'released through official channels' and did not respond to any follow-up questions. When asked again on Thursday to comment on his plans to visit Texas, DHS again did not respond. His absence is not normal, former FEMA officials told Politico, and indicates to local leaders that they can't rely on him.
On Wednesday, a group of Democratic lawmakers sent Richardson a letter questioning whether he was fulfilling his job duties, demanding more specific details on how many FEMA personnel have been deployed to Texas and asking about plans to fill vacancies at the National Weather Service.
The Democrats ― which include Reps. Rick Larsen (Wash.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Greg Stanton (Ariz.), and Gabe Amo (R.I.) ― noted that a key NWS position in San Antonio hadn't been filled. 'How was critical information communicated to Texas emergency management and public safety officials?' they asked in light of the vacancy.
'It would be unconscionable to face the next extreme weather event with a FEMA and NWS that are anything less than fully resourced to respond from the earliest forecast through the last delivery of relief,' they wrote.
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New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Left-wing hedge fund D.E. Shaw fears ‘reprisals' over DEI from Trump administration: sources
Staffers at the notoriously secretive hedge fund D.E. Shaw fear the wildly lucrative left-wing firm could face 'reprisals' from the Trump administration over its woke DEI policies, The Post has learned. The New York-based powerhouse founded by billionaire David E. Shaw — whose algorithm-driven trades made it the most profitable hedge fund in 2024, raking in $11.1 billion for investors, according to Institutional Investor magazine — has grown remarkably quiet of late when it comes to diversity, equality, and inclusion, sources said. D.E. Shaw did not respond to The Post's emailed request for comment for this article. 8 Billionaire David E. Shaw, who has a long history of donating to Democrats, founded the money-spinning firm in 1988. YouTube/WebsEdge Science The company, which gave a young Jeff Bezos his big break in finance before he set up Amazon in 1994, has promoted DEI policies for years. A June 2019 memo obtained by The Post that was written by managing director Eddie Fishman encouraged staffers 'to display their pronouns' that 'align with their gender identity' in their emails so managers could 'foster an inclusive culture.' 8 The June 2019 memo. Obtained by the NY Post But a review by The Post of archived pages from D.E. Shaw's website shows that its DEI language has since been scrubbed, including references to how the firm 'actively promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion.' Now, its site merely says it's seeking 'talented people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.' One insider said top brass at the Wall Street firm — whose 74-year-old namesake helped bankroll the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — made 'a strategic move' to steer away from full-throated wokeness over fear of catching the attention of the White House. 'There was some concern that aggressive policies would make the firm a target for reprisals by the current administration,' the source said. 'And we were about as aggressive as you could get.' 'They were going 100 miles an hour on DEI in public, only then to drop to zero and fall off a cliff,' said another staffer. 'The communications have certainly been ratcheted back,' claimed a third employee. 'It's not as in-your-face as it once was.' 8 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott while working at D.E. Shaw. The then-couple quit in 1994 when Bezos set up the online retail giant. REUTERS 8 Top DOJ lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon issued a stern warning to corporate America in a Senate hearing on July 23: 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it.' CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images D.E. Shaw's retreat follows a Supreme Court ruling last month and a White House-led crackdown on corporate DEI policies, which critics say lower performance standards and foster so-called reverse discrimination. Top Department of Justice lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, issued the starkest of warnings to corporate America during a testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 23. 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it,' the top Trump administration official said. Nevertheless, five sources with direct knowledge of the matter told The Post that executives at the company — founded by computer scientist Shaw in 1988 after he did stints at Stanford, Columbia and Morgan Stanley — are still paying lip service to wokeness to the rank and file. 'They have said internally that our commitment and programs regarding DEI are not changing,' said another senior D.E. Shaw source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'They have themselves in a bit of a bind. They went hardcore DEI to appear progressive and cater to liberal recruits,' a veteran of the firm added. 'Internally, they are putting a brave face on it. But they are now very worried that the administration will start looking into them.' 8 President Trump has ordered the DOJ to crack down on the DEI policies that flourished under the Biden-Harris administration. Bloomberg via Getty Images 8 The woke job placements mysteriously disappeared from the DE Shaw website after The Post approached the firm for comment about its DEI policies. Fearing Trump's ire, the hedge fund appears to have axed its 'inclusive' Bridge internship. The program was set up in 2016 for 'historically underrepresented' groups in finance. The 'woke' job placement schemes still featured prominently on D.E. Shaw's website last week. But they have now been deleted after The Post approached the firm for comment on their DEI policies on Friday. According to an archived version of D.E. Shaw's Campus website — an online recruitment portal — the firm created three programs aimed at diverse recruitment. Its 'Discovery' program was 'designed for students who self-identify as women', while 'Momentum' was aimed at those 'who self-identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community D.E. Shaw also had a program called 'Latitude,' which was 'for students who self-identify as Native American or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.' 8 One scheme called Momentum was open to students who self-identify as part of the 'LGBTQIA+ community.' Other Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Bank of America and Jamie Dimon's JPMorgan Chase have scaled back their public commitments to DEI. The Post reported exclusively how Goldman decided to give woke the boot — on its website at least — when its partners met with CEO David Solomon in Miami in February. The Post attempted to speak to additional employees at D.E. Shaw, but they declined, citing fears of retribution from D.E. Shaw's management, which has even been known to weigh in on whether employees can attend social gatherings with people who have left the company. 'It is definitely something that people are talking about at the firm,' a separate person briefed on the matter told The Post. 'The irony is that the whole firm is still very white and very male,' said another source. 8 Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is one of the biggest names among the DE Shaw alumni. He served both the second Clinton and first Obama administrations. Getty Images The hedge fund's leadership team counts two females, Alexis Halaby and managing director Anne Dinning, amongst its ranks. The firm last made major headlines in 2022 when it was forced to pay a $52 million defamation settlement to one of its former rising stars, Dan Michalow, after an arbitration panel found that it had falsely accused him of sexual misconduct. Michalow, who always denied any wrongdoing, left the company not long after the start of the #MeToo movement, where hundreds of rich and powerful men were accused of sexual misdeeds. Aside from Amazon's Bezos and his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, D.E. Shaw's most famous alum is arguably Lawrence Summers. He served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and as director of Barack Obama's National Economic Council.
Los Angeles Times
10 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom responds to Trump's gutter politics
SACRAMENTO — In fighting President Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom reminds me of actor Gene Hackman's hard-nosed character in the movie 'Mississippi Burning.' Hackman plays a take-no-prisoners FBI agent, Rupert Anderson, who is investigating the disappearance of three young civil rights workers in racially segregated 1964 Mississippi. His partner and boss is stick-by-the-rules agent Alan Ward, played by Willem Dafoe. The 1988 film is loosely based on a true story. The two agents eventually find the victims' murdered bodies and apprehend the Ku Klux Klan killers after Anderson persuades Ward to discard his high-road rule book in dealing with uncooperative local white folks. 'Don't drag me into your gutter, Mr. Anderson,' Ward sternly tells his underling initially. Anderson shouts back: 'These people are crawling out of the SEWER, MR. WARD! Maybe the gutter's where we oughta be.' And it's where they go. Only then do they solve the case. Newsom contends Trump is playing gutter politics by pressuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the GOP-controlled Legislature to redraw the state's U.S. House seats in an effort to elect five additional Republicans in next year's midterm elections. House seats normally are redrawn only at the beginning of a decade after the decennial census. Democrats need to gain just three net seats to retake control of the House and end the GOP's one-party rule of the federal government. Trump is trying to prevent that by browbeating Texas and other red states into gerrymandering their Democrat-held House districts into GOP winners. Republicans currently hold 25 of Texas' 38 House seats. Democrats have 12. In California, it's just the opposite — even more so. Out of 52 seats, Democrats outnumber Republicans 43 to 9, with room to make it even more lopsided. 'We could make it so that only four Republicans are left,' says Sacramento-based redistricting guru Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc. Mitchell already is crafting potential new maps in case Newsom follows through with his threat to retaliate against Texas by redrawing California's districts to help Democrats gain five seats, neutralizing Republican gains in the Lone Star State. Newsom and the Legislature would be seizing redistricting responsibility from an independent citizens' commission that voters created in 2010. They took the task away from lawmakers because the politicians were acting only in their own self-interest, effectively choosing their own voters. As they do in Texas and most states, particularly red ones. But the governor and Democrats would be ignoring California voters' will — at least as stated 15 years ago. And Newsom would be down in the political gutter with Trump on redistricting. But that doesn't seem to bother him. 'They're playing by a different set of rules,' Newsom recently told reporters, referring to Trump and Republicans. 'They can't win by the traditional game. So they want to change the game. We can act holier than thou. We could sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be. Or we can recognize the existential nature that is the moment.' Newsom added that 'everything has changed' since California voters banned gerrymandering 15 years ago. That's indisputable given Trump's bullying tactics and his inhumane domestic policies. 'I'm not going to be the guy that said, 'I could have, would have, should have,'' Newsom continued. 'I'm not going to be passive at this moment. I'm not going to look at my kids in the eyes and say, 'I was a little timid.'' Newsom's own eyes, of course, are on the White House and a potential 2028 presidential bid. He sees a national opportunity now to attract frustrated Democratic voters who believe that party leaders aren't fighting hard enough against Trump. Newsom continued to echo Hackman's script Friday at a news conference in Sacramento with Texas Democratic legislators. Referring to Trump and Texas Republicans, Newsom asserted: 'They're not screwing around. We cannot afford to screw around. We have to fight fire with fire.' But yakking about redrawing California's congressional maps is easy. Actually doing it would be exceedingly difficult. 'Texas can pass a plan tomorrow. California cannot,' says Tony Quinn, a former Republican consultant on legislative redistricting. Unlike in California, there's no Texas law that forbids blatant gerrymandering. California's Constitution requires redistricting by the independent commission. Moreover, a 1980s state Supreme Court ruling allows only one redistricting each decade, Quinn says. Trying to gerrymander California congressional districts through legislation without first asking the voters' permission would be criminally stupid. Newsom would need to call a special election for November and persuade voters to temporarily suspend the Constitution, allowing the Legislature to redraw the districts. Or the Legislature could place a gerrymandered plan on the ballot and seek voter approval. But that would be risky. A specific plan could offer several targets for the opposition — the GOP and do-gooder groups. In either case, new maps would need to be drawn by the end of the year to fit the June 2026 primary elections. Mitchell says polling shows that the independent commission is very popular with voters. Still, he asserts, 'there's something in the water right now. There's potential that voters will not want to let Trump run ramshackle while we're being Pollyannish.' 'The reality is that a lot of Democrats would hit their own thumb with a hammer if they thought it would hurt Trump more.' Mitchell also says that California could out-gerrymander Texas by not only weakening current GOP seats but by strengthening competitive Democratic districts. Texas doesn't have that opportunity, he says, because its districts already have been heavily gerrymandered. Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio says Newsom is 'trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube' and doubts it will work. 'Unilaterally disarming was a mistake. 'But Newsom's not wrong. They play hardball. We don't.' Newsom and California Democrats should fight Trump and Texas Republicans in the MAGA gutter, using all weapons available. As Hackman's character also says: 'Don't mean s— to have a gun unless you (sic) ready to use it.' The must-read: Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk The TK: The Age-Checked Internet Has Arrived The L.A. Times Special: Trump's top federal prosecutor in L.A. struggles to secure indictments in protest cases Until next week,George Skelton —Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Senate GOP quietly urges House to shift approach on shutdown talk
Senate Republicans say President Trump has made it clear that he doesn't want a government shutdown, and they're urging House GOP lawmakers to tone down their approach to the Sept. 30 funding deadline. House Republicans jammed Senate Democrats in March with a partisan funding bill, which Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) reluctantly voted for to avoid a shutdown. But the political dynamics are different now. Schumer is under heavy pressure to fight harder against Trump and his MAGA-allies, heightening the chance of a shutdown if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) tries to use the same playbook. 'I know that our side won't want a shutdown, Trump hates that and rightly so,' said a Republican senator, who requested anonymity to discuss conversations with the White House. The senator said 'the fate of the approps bills' to fund the government in fiscal year 2026 will be the focus of the GOP conference before it leaves for a four-week August recess. A second Republican senator who requested anonymity said that Trump, who dined with Senate Republicans at the White House recently to celebrate the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, has made it clear to his allies on Capitol Hill that he wants to avoid a shutdown in the fall. The president is focused on landing trade deals and touting the accomplishments included in the massive tax and spending package Congress passed before July 4. This is a big reason why Senate Republicans have sought common ground with Democrats on the annual appropriations bills, hoping to put behind them the bruising partisan battles over the reconciliation bill and a measure that clawed back $9 billion in PBS, NPR and global aid funding. The senator said that higher spending levels in the Senate appropriations bills offer a 'better path' to avoiding a government shutdown in the fall because they are less likely to provoke opposition from Democrats. The Senate's Interior and Environment appropriations bill for 2026, for example, provides $41.45 billion in total funding, including $3.27 billion for the National Park Service and $6.17 billion for the Forest Service. It passed out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, 26 to 2. The House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill, by comparison, provides $38 billion in funding, which is $2.9 billion below the level enacted in 2025. It also includes 72 controversial policy riders that would restrict the issuance of rules to protect sage grouse, prohibit the implementation of an updated public lands rule and dictate the timing of offshore and onshore fossil-fuel extraction leases. The House measure passed out of committee on a partisan 33-28 vote. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, complained last week that bipartisanship has been 'thwarted' on the House side. 'It's not a negotiation,' he said, arguing that the legislation being drafted by Republican House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (Okla.) 'does not look to being bipartisan in a way that both Democrats and Republicans can come together.' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says that Senate Republicans want to avoid a last-minutes standoff with Democrats over funding that could threaten a shutdown. The Senate GOP leader warned in an interview with the Ruthless Podcast that Schumer is unlikely to swallow a partisan funding deal sent over from the House shortly before the Sept. 30 deadline, noting that the Democratic leader 'got just blown up' for voting for the partisan year-long funding bill the House passed in March. 'I think [Democrats are] going to be under an enormous amount of pressure come fall, which is why … we need to do everything we can – House Republicans, Senate Republicans, President Trump and his team – to … set it up for success, to keep the government up and funded,' Thune said. 'And then … Chuck Schumer … what's he going to do? Is he going to bow to the Democratic base, or do the responsible thing and keep the government open? That's the decision,' he added. A Democratic senator who requested anonymity to comment on discussions within the Democratic caucus said that Schumer is coming under heavy pressure from liberal colleagues to insist on a bipartisan funding stopgap. And they're urging him to reject any partisan funding measure akin to what the House jammed the Senate with in March. 'We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process. That's how it's always been done successfully and we believe that should happen. However, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that,' Schumer told reporters after meeting with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) last week to discuss strategy. Asked what he would do if the House sent another partisan continuing resolution to the Senate shortly before the funding deadline, Schumer said: 'We're for a bipartisan, bicameral bill. That's what's always been done. The onus is on the Republicans to make that happen.' Senate Republicans have heard that message loud and clear and they want to avoid sticking Trump with a shutdown in the fall. An element of the Senate Republican strategy is to pass several of the regular appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026 before the end of September to promote a sense of optimism that Republicans and Democrats can work together to fund the government. GOP senators hope that, in turn, would reduce the temptation for the House to simply send to the Senate a stopgap funding measure that cuts deeply into Democratic priorities, as Johnson did in March, and dare Schumer to shut down the government. By passing a few spending bills this week or in early September, Senate negotiators would be in a better position to insist that House GOP leaders meet them halfway. The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday, 90 to 8, to proceed with its version of the military construction and Department of Veterans Affairs Appropriations bills. Thune is trying to attach to that measure a bill funding the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration and another funding the departments of Commerce and Justice, science programs and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Thune tried to attach the legislative branch appropriations bill to the package but Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) objected, insisting on the measure getting a stand-alone vote. The Senate will resume voting on nominees Monday while Thune attempts to get all 99 other senators to sign off on a time agreement for expanding the appropriations package beyond military construction and Veterans Affairs. 'We want to get as many bills considered in this tranche as possible,' Thune told reporters last week.
