President Trump, first lady head to visit Kerrville, Texas following fatal floods
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump departed to visit Kerrville Texas Friday following massive floods in the region that have taken the lives of more than people The Trumps are expected to meet with local leaders and first responders who are navigating the aftermath of flash floods that devastated the Central Texas society after the Guadalupe River surged more than feet in just a matter of hours Among those who died in the flooding were at least campers and counselors from Camp Mystic a Christian summer camp founded nearly years ago for girls Meanwhile more than people are missing and unaccounted for in Kerry County Texas following the floods according to leaders The White House disclosed Monday that Trump would visit the flood site to witness the devastation I'll be going down on Friday with the first lady and we will be taking a trip Trump noted Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting And we don't want to get in anyone's way because you know it's what happens The president goes and everyone's around focused I don't want anyone to focus on us but it's doable they could have EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL SCOLDS TRUMP ON SITUATION CHANGE AFTER TEXAS FLOODSThe Trump administration has faced scrutiny from Democrats for its response to the catastrophe particularly for a new approach that Secretary of Homeland Defense Kristi Noem approved in June before the floods that requires her to sign off on any department expenses including disaster-related expenses that are more than Noem reportedly waited more than hours after the flooding started before she approved the deployment of the Federal Crisis Management Agency s FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams according to CNN Meanwhile Noem dismissed the report's credibility during a segment on Fox Friends on Thursday claiming the analysis was fake news The Department of Homeland Shield DHS which oversees FEMA stated Fox News Digital that the agency has taken an all-hands-on-deck approach in responding to the dilemma when appealed about the CNN overview The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin commented in a report to Fox News Digital Trump also defended his administration s response and declared at the White House during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting that you had people there as fast as anybody s ever seen Still the catastrophe creates uncertainty about the future of FEMA since Trump has called for massive reforms to the agency WHITE HOUSE BLASTS SCHUMER DEMOCRATS FOR 'DEPRAVED LIE' BLAMING TRUMP FOR TEXAS FLASH FLOODTrump explained in June that he demanded to wean off of FEMA and we want to bring it back to the state level White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reported that the future of FEMA is an ongoing discussion when inquired whether the flood had prompted Trump to re-evaluate his position on overhauling FEMA The president wants to ensure American citizens dependably have what they need during times of need Leavitt narrated reporterson Monday Whether that assistance comes from states or the federal establishment that s a procedures discussion that will continue And the president has consistently reported he wants states to do as much as they can if not more OBAMA BROS BALK AT FAR-LEFT SAYING TEXANS BROUGHT FLOOD CATASTROPHE ON THEMSELVES BY SUPPORTING TRUMPMeanwhile Noem lauded FEMA s efforts responding to the accident during the Cabinet meeting even as several lawmakers like Rep Jared Moscowitz D-Fla have called for an research into reports of a delayed FEMA response FEMA has been deployed and we re cutting through the paperwork of the old FEMA streamlining it much like your vision of how FEMA should operate Noem disclosed It s been a much better response to help these families get through this terrible situation
