Four officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told CNN that the federal response to the devastating Texas floods was slowed by a Trump administration rule requiring cost approval from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The sources told CNN that Noem now needs to approve any expenditure anticipated to cost over $100,000. Related Kristi Noems anti-LGBTQ+ politics helped her become Donald Trumps Homeland Security pick The South Dakota governor (and self-confessed puppy killer) has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ political stances. The sources tell us that FEMAs deployment of urban search and rescue teams, which are typically deployed in anticipation they might be needed, instead was delayed until Monday, three days after the flood, CNN host Anderson Cooper explained. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Now, a source also tells us that a request Texas made for FEMA aerial imagery to aid in the search was also delayed, waiting for Secretary Noems approval. Now, additionally, multiple FEMA officials say that they were taken aback by the agencys relatively limited response in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. CNN: According to four officials inside FEMA.. a new rule that any expected expenditure over $100,000 needed sign off from Noem slowed the federal response.The sources tell us that FEMA's deployment of urban search and rescue teams, which are typically deployed in pic.twitter.com/6o1SRT7n9t Acyn (@Acyn) July 10, 2025The officials also told CNN that callers endured long wait times at a disaster call center as FEMA awaited approval from Noem for more staff to answer phones. $100,000, they explained, is equivalent to pennies compared to the billions of dollars the agency often spends when disaster strikes. The rule makes it impossible for the agency to work as it once did, they said. Wewereoperating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it, one official explained. That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.The Trump administration has disputed these claims with a focus on tooting its own horn rather than on alleviating the suffering going on in Texas. In a reply to an X post from the senior digital editor for Meidas Touch that showed a clip of Cooper talking about Noems budget limitations, the official account of the Department of Homeland Security wrote, This is a FAKE NEWS LIE from CNN. This reporting is an unapparelled [SIC] display of activist journalism and distracts from the robust, coordinated federal response led by Secretary Noem that has saved over 900+ lives.While these journalists slept comfortably in D.C., Secretary Noem deployed to Texas, working day and night to approve every possible need that search and rescue workers had. Within moments of the flooding in Texas, DHS assets, including the U.S. Coast Guard, tactical Border Patrol units and FEMA personnel surged into unprecedented action alongside Texas first responders. The U.S. Coast Guard alone rescued over 230 Americans.The post claimed Noem is leading a historic, first-of-its-kind approach to disaster funding: putting states first by providing upfront recovery support moving money faster than ever and jump starting recovery. This is a FAKE NEWS LIE from CNN. This reporting is an unapparelled display of activist journalism and distracts from the robust, coordinated federal response led by Secretary Noem that has saved over 900+ lives. While these journalists slept comfortably in D.C., Secretary Noem Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 10, 2025 The post refers to the Trump administrations ultimate goal to abolish FEMA altogether in favor of state agencies fully managing their own disasters, a move that experts say could be disastrous as climate change continues to cause increasingly severe weather and states lack the funding and resources to fully combat it.Noem has stood by this goal, telling reporters on Wednesday that, We, as a federal government, dont manage disasters. The state does. We come in and support them, and thats exactly what we did in this situation. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) also praised the president for his response to the floods. Never have I seen a response as quick or as effective as I have the Trump administrations response to this storm, he claimed. In a separate statement to reporters, he also called it the word choice of losers to try to figure out who is to blame for the lack of advanced warning before the floods. He caused widespread anger when he compared the devastation to losing a football game. EXCLUSIVE: In a Blackhawk above the Texas Hill Country, I asked Gov. @GregAbbott_TX to rate President Trump's response to the floodsThis response has been the swiftest, most effective that ANY President has ever delivered. Record amount of support, record amount of time, pic.twitter.com/nNtZ8lfiwk Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 9, 2025On July 6, two days after the floods, Trump signed a Major Disaster Declaration that will provide federal funding to relief efforts, but as of the 8th, FEMA had only deployed about 70 search-and-rescue workers to the center of the disaster zone, compared to the more than 1,750 deployed by the state, the New York Times reported. In comparison, the Biden administration sent more than 1,000 FEMA workers to aid in rescue efforts when Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast in 2024.The flash flood began in the early morning hours of July 4th, with the center of the tragedy unfolding in Kerry County, Texas, which sits along the Guadalupe River.The river rose more than 25 feet in two hours. Deaths from the disaster has reached 120, including at least 36 children, with more than 170 people still missing.At least 27 of the young victims were campers at Camp Mystic and were sleeping soundly in their cabins when the water began to rise. The area is prone to flash flooding, and many in the area have been fighting to implement a better warning system for years.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.