DHS’s Fiery Rebuttal calling CNN Fake News on FEMA Response to Texas Floods Ends Up Validating CNN’s 72‑Hour Timeline
In a blistering
X‑post, the Department of Homeland Security accused CNN of “activist journalism” for reporting that Secretary
Kristi Noem’s cost‑control edict slowed FEMA’s response to the deadly Texas floods. DHS labeled the reporting a “FAKE NEWS LIE,” but ironically, the statement only reinforces the very 72‑hour delay CNN exposed.
CNN’s
scoop, based on anonymous FEMA officials,
reported that Noem imposed a strict rule—every FEMA contract or grant exceeding $100,000 now requires her personal sign‑off. The threshold, internal sources say, is “pennies” in typical disaster relief. The result? FEMA couldn’t pre‑position Urban Search and Rescue crews until Noem gave the green light — 72 hours after the flooding began.
DHS’s
statement claimed its “robust, coordinated federal response” saved “over 900+ lives” and praised Noem for “working day and night” to approve frontline needs. That’s a standard political script—but the devil’s in the details: “within moments of the flooding,” DHS claimed deployments began. If that were true, FEMA could have bypassed the 72‑hour delay. But CNN’s sourced account says otherwise.
Here’s DHS’s strategic pivot: “All assets surged into unprecedented action… within moments”—a portrait of seamless federal agility. Yet, CNN and multiple local outlets — NBC affiliate
News 4 San Antonio included — report that the deployment of elite USAR teams was held until Monday, more than three days after the flooding began.
The statement also emphasizes the Coast Guard rescuing 230 people. No one disputes that. But those river rescues by state, local, and Coast Guard teams happened as FEMA was hamstrung —waiting for Noem’s permission to move pre‑positioned federal search teams.
DHS insisted, “We were operating under guidance: lean forward… anticipate what the state needs.” That sounds plausible—until you juxtapose it with the actual delay reported. One FEMA insider told CNN, “That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.”
Worse, DHS’s framing of the approval threshold as fiscally prudent smacks of political cover. FEMA contracts during disasters routinely hit the hundreds of thousands—these are not trivial sums. Sources warned that the threshold “could severely disrupt the distribution of emergency funds during natural disasters.”
So DHS’s statement is effectively saying: “Yes, Noem slowed things down—but that’s good.” That line echoes the now‑familiar playbook of highlighting conservative oversight while accusing critics of overreach.
This episode reveals the broader tension within Trump‑Noem’s FEMA remix: an attempt to reshape FEMA into leaner, state‑centric operations, even amid a crisis, even when delay costs lives. DHS’s attempt to rebuke CNN instead confirms the core components of that story: cost‑control shock, 72‑hour delay, Noem’s hold on powers, FEMA’s reduced agility.
In the end, DHS’s over‑the‑top rebuttal underscores the power of CNN’s reporting. The statement reinforces — not refutes — the 72‑hour timeline. That leaves us with a rhetorical shell game: furious denials wrapped in the very narrative they aim to quash.
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