Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, became the latest Democrat to link federal budget cuts to the flooding disaster in Texas, saying Tuesday he's seen "conflicting reports" about whether the Trump administration's cuts to weather agencies contributed to the death toll.
In an interview with MSNBC, Castro connected cuts to the National Weather Service and other climate agencies to the at least 109 fatalities in Central Texas since flash floods ravaged the area on Friday.
"There's the issue with the National Weather Service and the cuts there. And I've seen conflicting reports about whether that made a difference in this particular event … but going forward, this underscores the importance of the National Weather Service, not just to Texas, but to the country, and how important it is that they're able to do their job and work with state and local governments to warn people when there's a storm like this," Castro said.
Castro's comments come days after former NWS officials and meteorologists have said that warnings issued ahead of the flooding were timely and as accurate as could be expected in real time.
"The forecasting was good. The warnings were good. It's always about getting people to receive the message," said Wisconsin-based meteorologist Chris Vagasky. "It appears that is one of the biggest contributors — that last mile."
In addition, Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, a union that represents government employees, said vacancies did not hamper flood response.
Nearly 600 employees left the NWS across several months ending in June, prompting Democrats to pounce and blame the Texas response on the cuts initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency.
The White House excoriated Democrats as "depraved" for playing politics with the loss of life.
"That was an act of God," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. "It's not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did. But there were early and consistent warnings, and again, the National Weather Service did its job."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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