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The White House rebuked critics for raising questions about the administration’s efforts to shrink federal agencies that deal with disaster preparedness and response.
July 7, 2025, 8:02 p.m. ET
When a hurricane hit North Carolina last year, Donald J. Trump claimed without evidence that the Biden administration was avoiding helping residents in Republican areas. When wildfires burned through Los Angeles earlier this year, Mr. Trump excoriated local and state Democrats for the calamity, making false assertions about water use policy.
But after a catastrophic flood that tore through Texas last week, leaving at least 100 dead, Mr. Trump cautioned against casting blame.
“This is a hundred-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch,” the president told reporters Sunday as he left his Bedminster golf course.
Pressed on whether the disaster was exacerbated by his administration’s push to shrink federal agencies, including the National Weather Service, he deflected.
“What a situation that all is,” Mr. Trump said. He appeared close to pointing the finger at President Joseph R. Biden Jr. before stopping short: “That was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup. But I wouldn’t blame Biden for it either.”
Unlike his predecessors, Mr. Trump has not hesitated to lean into partisanship during moments of major natural disasters. During his first term, he told aides he didn’t want to send money to Puerto Rico after it was hit by Hurricane Maria, saying that the island’s leadership was corrupt. In 2018, he threatened to withholds federal funds from California after wildfires erupted in the state.
