DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Gov. Greg Abbott discuss ongoing efforts with recent flooding along the Guadalupe River during a news conference in Ingram, Texas, July 5. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez)
PRESIDENT TRUMP, FIRST LADY HEAD TO VISIT KERRVILLE, TEXAS FOLLOWING FATAL FLOODS
In response to the 2023 Ohio train derailment in East Palestine, the Biden administration said the chemical disaster did not meet legal requirements for a FEMA disaster declaration, waiting two weeks to deploy a team to assist.
In the 2023 Maui fires, more than 100 people were killed, and historic Lahaina was reduced to rubble. Survivors were left without food, water and shelter.
At the time, FEMA Administrator Michael Brown called President Joe Biden's response to the deadly fires "an abject failure."
Search and rescue teams work in Kerrville, Texas, July 9. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Noem noted that, during the most recent disaster, federal assistance was on the ground in Texas as soon as the flooding hit.
"We deployed our Coast Guard, helicopters, [aircraft] and swift water rescue teams out of Customs and Border Protection," she said. "Our [Border Patrol Tactical Unit] (BORTAC) teams, which I like to call the Department of Homeland Security's ninjas, are specifically trained for situations like that, where the unprecedented is happening."
After the floods, Noem said she immediately met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and spoke with him about getting a major disaster declaration signed.
Within an hour or two of the request, she said, it was approved by the White House.
Multiple Texas flood victims have been confirmed dead by families, including some of the girls who went missing from Camp Mystic when the Guadalupe River flooded July 4. (Fox News)
She added her belief that FEMA "will cease to exist the way that it is today."
"We are fundamentally reforming that agency," Noem said. "President Trump may want to, in his prerogative, as he likes to do, rename things. He may come up with a new name for this agency that reflects the fundamental change that's going to happen there. But this agency will no longer be the bureaucratic agency where people have to wait 20 years for their claim to be paid.
"It will be an agency that immediately says to that state, and to that local emergency management director, ‘What do you need? How can we support you?' And then trains them to have the skill set that they need to be serving their people immediately, because they're always there faster. They're right there on the streets."
It is unclear what the new agency name might be.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen during a roundtable discussion with first responders and local officials at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Texas, after observing flood damage Friday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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When asked about reports of calls to FEMA from Texas residents going unanswered, Noem said she was "throwing the bull---- flag," claiming she did not think that was true.
"I will get rid of any contract that doesn't respond to people because they know they are empowered to do it," she said.
FEMA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation and influence government response.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administrations-texas-flood-disaster-response-fundamentally-different-bidens-approach-noem