Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied reports suggesting the deployment of resources to Texas was delayed because of her new rule requiring her personal sign-off on all Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contracts or grants worth more than $100,000.
In an interview Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Noem acknowledged that she implemented the new rule but said the resources were deployed promptly after the flooding.
“Those claims are absolutely false. Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from the Department of Homeland Security there, helping those individuals in Texas. It was a heartbreaking scene. And I think it’s been well covered about what the Coast Guard did, how they were deployed immediately and helped rescue so many individuals from those floodwaters. And we had Border Patrol down there with their tactical teams, and FEMA was there just within a few hours as well,” Noem told NBC News’s Kristen Welker about the reports.
“So those claims are false,” she continued. “They’re from people who won’t put their name behind those claims. And those call centers were fully staffed and responsive. And this is the fastest, I believe, in years, maybe decades, that FEMA has been deployed to help individuals in this type of situation.”
Noem explained that her new policy is “an accountability” mechanism for contracts but insisted that “there was no break in contracts” and that resources were deployed immediately.
“Those contracts were...
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