{"id":1054994,"date":"2025-07-14T16:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1054994"},"modified":"2025-07-14T16:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:49:13","slug":"new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to the Trump administration gutting natural disaster prevention resources, <\/em>DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ongoing tragedy in Texas is a horrific example of Donald Trump\u2019s stunning disregard for the American people. While parents are mourning the loss of their children, Trump and Kristi Noem are playing partisan games with disaster relief and putting even more lives at risk. As Trump ignores experts and slashes critical natural disaster prevention resources, even Republicans are criticizing the Trump administration\u2019s reckless and senseless actions. Every day that Trump refuses to restore critical safety services is another day Americans everywhere are in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: In the wake of the devastating Texas floods, Republicans are fed up with Donald Trump and Kristi Noem\u2019s sweeping cuts to natural disaster prevention and mitigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTUS<\/a>: \u201cPresident Donald Trump\u2019s administration has systematically reduced states\u2019 access to resources to safeguard their people against natural disasters, frustrating city and state leaders across the country \u2014 including from communities that overwhelmingly voted for Trump. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn February, the Trump administration took down the application for the Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program,<\/strong> which was supposed to make $600 million in grants available this year to reduce long-term flood risks, especially for properties that are covered by government-funded flood insurance. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOther Republicans have also challenged FEMA on the BRIC program in hearings and letters: Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Trump administration isn\u2019t just removing funding \u2014 it\u2019s also reducing disaster mitigation regulations. <\/strong>In March, FEMA revoked the requirement that structures like hospitals, wastewater treatment plants and fire stations damaged in previous floods be designed to withstand greater risks if they want to use federal dollars to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of working to get Texans critical resources, Noem spent her weekend lying on the Sunday shows and refusing to accept responsibility for her own regulations that slowed down aid.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cFEMA\u2019s response to Texas flood slowed by Noem\u2019s cost controls\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs CNN has previously reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem \u2014 whose department oversees FEMA \u2014 recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem\u2019s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn\u2019t authorize FEMA\u2019s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFEMA staff have also been answering phones at a disaster call center, where, according to one agency official, callers have faced longer wait times as the agency awaited Noem\u2019s approval for a contract to bring in additional support staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristen Welker<\/a>: \u201cIt reportedly requires that every FEMA contract, every grant over $100,000 be personally approved by you. Now, officials within the agency have told multiple news outlets that the policy led to a slower deployment of some FEMA resources \u2026 Did your policy delay some of the critical response resources on the ground in Texas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristi Noem: \u201cThose claims are absolutely false.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

REMINDER: Trump and Noem have a history of playing politics with disaster relief. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump<\/a>: \u201cIf you add Los Angeles into it then you can really do one, big beautiful bill because frankly they want that so badly. They want the money to go out there so badly. And I don\u2019t think we should do a bill until Los Angeles is included, and when Los Angeles is included, we get everything we want.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Richard Blumenthal<\/a>: \u201cI assume you will agree with me that withholding disaster relief by President Trump \u2026 is a violation of his duty and of law?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noem: *Dodges*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blumenthal: \u201cI want to ask you yes or no, with all due respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noem: *Continues to avoid question*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blumenthal: \u201cSo, if President Trump were to say to you, we\u2019re going to withhold money from Connecticut, or Michigan \u2026 because we don\u2019t like the governor or we don\u2019t like the politics of the state, you would stand up to him and say, Mr. President, we need to allocate that money?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noem: \u201c… I don\u2019t speak to hypotheticals.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to the Trump administration gutting natural disaster prevention resources, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:  \u201cThe ongoing tragedy in Texas is a horrific example of Donald Trump\u2019s stunning disregard for the American people. While parents are mourning the loss of their children, Trump and Kristi Noem are playing partisan games with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":293,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1054994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-14T20:49:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-14T20:49:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1101\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/\",\"name\":\"NEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief - Democrats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-14T20:49:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-14T20:49:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"width\":1101,\"height\":483},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democrats\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64\",\"name\":\"Shelby Reese\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shelby Reese\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/reeses\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief - Democrats","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_site_name":"Democrats","article_published_time":"2025-07-14T20:49:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-14T20:49:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1101,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Shelby Reese","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shelby Reese","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/","name":"NEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief - Democrats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","datePublished":"2025-07-14T20:49:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-14T20:49:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","width":1101,"height":483},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/new-trump-systematically-reduced-access-to-natural-disaster-prevention-programs-created-red-tape-that-slowed-down-relief\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NEW: Trump \u201cSystematically Reduced\u201d Access to Natural Disaster Prevention Programs & Created Red Tape That Slowed Down Relief"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/","name":"Democrats","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64","name":"Shelby Reese","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shelby Reese"},"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/reeses\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054994"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1054995,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054994\/revisions\/1054995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}