Kristi Noem Cries 'Fake News' Amid Reports Of FEMA Failures Afte Texas Floods
Noem pushed back against a New York Times report that found thousands of calls to FEMA's disaster assistance line went unanswered in the days following the flood, in part because the Department of Homeland Security had allowed call center contracts to lapse.
'It's discouraging that during this time, when we have such a loss of life and so many people's lives have been turned upside down, that people are playing politics,' she told host Kristen Welker, calling the investigation 'false reporting.'
Documents reviewed by the Times showed that nearly two-thirds of calls to FEMA's disaster assistance line went unanswered on July 6 and 7. Still, Noem insisted the story needed to be 'validified,' appearing to create a hybrid with the words 'validated' and 'verified.'
She also dismissed accounts from FEMA whistleblowers as 'anonymous attacks' aimed at politicizing the situation.
WELKER: The NYT is reporting that thousands of calls from flood victims to FEMA calls centers went unanswered in the middle of this ongoing disaster because you didn't renew contracts to keep call center staff in place until nearly a week after the floods.NOEM: False reporting.… pic.twitter.com/4dKq64zSm3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 13, 2025
The Times report noted that it took until five days after the July 4 floods to reinstate call center contracts, in part due to a new internal policy requiring Noem to personally sign-off on all DHS contracts over $100,000.
In an email to the Times, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security blamed FEMA's responsiveness issue on an unexpected spike in demand.
'When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase,' they wrote. 'Despite this expected influx, FEMA's disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.'
Elsewhere in the interview, Noem tried to reframe former President Donald Trump's calls to dismantle FEMA, claiming he isn't looking to eliminate the agency but simply wants to see it 'remade.'
'I think the president recognizes that FEMA should not exist in the way that it always has,' she said. 'It needs to be redeployed in a new way, and that's what we did during this response.'
Search For Texas Flood Victims Paused As Heavy Rains Bring New Threat Of High Waters
Trump Calls Reporter An 'Evil Person' For Asking About Families Impacted By Texas Flood
Report: FEMA Repeatedly Loosened Oversight At Texas Camp Where 27 People Died In Flooding
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