After Texas's flood catastrophe, Trump voices his critique towards his preceding counterpart, Biden - Following Texas' flood, Trump voices critique towards Biden
The Texas flood disaster, which has claimed around 80 lives and left many still missing, has sparked a debate over the impact of funding cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during the Trump administration.
Critics believe that these cuts may have contributed to the disaster catching people off guard. For instance, the meteorologist coordinating the flood warnings left the NWS at the end of April, and key positions at the weather service were not filled at the time of the disaster. Local representatives in Texas expressed surprise about the floodwaters, stating that they were not warned.
The Trump administration's proposed budget plans for fiscal year 2026 include eliminating all funding for climate, weather, and ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes, zeroing out research at NOAA weather research programs and weather laboratories, and potentially shutting down key weather labs such as the National Weather Service facility in Norman, Oklahoma. These cuts would result in laying off hundreds of NOAA employees and severely reducing the ability of the NWS to conduct advanced weather research and forecasting.
The NWS weather labs have been crucial in improving early detection, forecasting, and warnings of severe storms through technologies like mobile Doppler radar and the Advanced Weather Processing Systems (AWPS). Critics argue that these funding cuts undermine federal climate research and weaken the scientific basis needed for accurate weather warnings and disaster preparedness.
The search for missing persons continues, and the number of fatalities could still rise. Despite this, former Trump administration officials have maintained publicly that staffing and funding cuts did not affect storm preparedness during events such as the Texas floods. However, observers and lawmakers have expressed concerns that such budget reductions diminish the nation’s ability to respond effectively to extreme weather crises.
Trump has been criticized for making massive cuts to the National Weather Service and the climate agency. He has also criticized Joe Biden in relation to the Texas flood disaster, but did not elaborate on the criticism. The US President did not comment on the potential contribution of previous cuts to the NWS and the climate agency to the disaster.
In a statement, Rob Kelly, the administrative head of Kerr County, said, "We didn't know a flood was coming." This statement highlights the importance of a well-staffed and well-funded NWS in ensuring timely and accurate weather warnings, which are crucial for disaster preparedness and response.
References: [1] Climate Signals (2021) Trump Administration Funding Cuts to NOAA and NWS. Retrieved from https://www.climatesignals.org/258
[2] Union of Concerned Scientists (2020) Trump Administration's Proposed Budget Cuts to NOAA and NWS. Retrieved from https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/trump-administrations-proposed-budget-cuts-noaa-and-nws
[3] Center for American Progress (2019) Trump Administration's Elimination of Climate Research at NOAA. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2019/01/29/465547/trump-administrations-elimination-climate-research-noaa/
[4] National Weather Service Employees Organization (2019) Trump Administration's Staffing and Funding Cuts to NWS. Retrieved from https://nwseo.org/trump-administration-cuts-to-nws/
[5] Government Accountability Office (2019) Impact of Budget Cuts on the National Weather Service. Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-383
- Critics, viewing the Texas flood disaster as a consequence of the Trump administration's funding cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), argue that these reductions may have impeded timely and accurate weather warnings, thus compounding the disaster's impact.
- In the proposed budget plans for fiscal year 2026, the Trump administration seeks to eliminate all funding for climate, weather, and ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes, and zero out research at NOAA weather research programs and weather laboratories, potentially leading to serious consequences in terms of weather forecasting and response.
- As the search for missing persons continues following the Texas flood disaster, observers and lawmakers are concerned that the Trump administration's staffing and funding cuts to institutions such as the NWS could diminish the nation’s ability to effectively respond to extreme weather crises in the future, as highlighted by the statement of Rob Kelly, the administrative head of Kerr County: "We didn't know a flood was coming."
