Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding an investigation into cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency after the deadly flooding in Texas over the holiday weekend.
At least 89 people were killed and dozens were still missing as officials searched for survivors in Central Texas, as the area remained under a flood watch.
The disaster has raised questions over why residents did not receive more warning before the catastrophic flooding swept through.
While there has not been evidence directly linking staffing cuts to the tragedy, the top elected official in Kerr County, Judge Rob Kelly, said they did not know the flood was coming. The number of people caught off guard has sparked allegations that DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) contributed to the deadliness of the flooding.
On Monday, Schumer sent a letter to the Commerce Department Acting Inspector General seeking a probe into the matter.
“Following the disastrous and deeply devastating flash flooding in Texas this weekend, I write to urge you to immediately to [sic] open an investigation into the scope, breadth, and ramifications of weather staffing shortages at key local National Weather Service (NWS) stations contributed to the catastrophic loss of life and property during the deadly flooding,” Schumer wrote.
Schumer wrote that his heart breaks for the victims. He also called it a national tragedy and argued that the American people deserve answers.
The top Democrat noted a New York Times report that said key forecasting and coordination positions at NWS offices responsible for the region were vacant at the time of the storm including a warning coordination meteorologist and other meteorology and coordination roles.
He also noted that the vacancy rate at many NWS offices across the country has roughly doubled since President Donald Trump returned to office due in part to encouragement from the administration for workers to retire as well as a hiring freeze.
“The roles left unfilled are not marginal, they’re critical,” Schumer wrote. “These are the experts responsible for modeling storm impacts, monitoring rising water levels, issuing flood warnings, and coordinating directly with local emergency managers about when to warn the public and issue evacuation orders,” Schumer wrote. “To put it plainly: they help save lives.”
The senator said they must provide answers as to why communities were not alerted sooner to imminent high flood waters. He specifically laid out nine questions he would like to have answered by an investigation, including whether staffing vacancies contributed, whether reduced NWS staffing delay or weaken warnings and the ability to coordinate with local emergency officials, which specific positions were left vacant, what the impact is if those positions remain vacant, and more.
The NWS said it issued multiple warnings before the Texas floods swept through, but local officials said they did not receive alerts.
The Daily Beast reached out to the NWS and the Commerce Department for comment about the number of vacancies at the NWS and specifically in Texas amid calls for an investigation.
NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei did not address the call for an investigation but said the NWS remains dedicated to its mission to serve the American public through through its forecasts and decision support services.
She wrote that the NWS’s Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) in Austin/San Antonio and San Angelo, TX had extra personnel on duty during the flooding.
“Extra staff members from both offices, in addition to the West Gulf River Forecast Center, had extra personnel on the night of Thursday, July 3 into the day on Friday, July 4,” she wrote. “All forecasts and warnings were issued in a timely manner. Additionally, these offices were able to provide decision support services to local partners, including those in the emergency management community.”
The NWS lost nearly 600 people from its workforce this spring as the Trump administration made a push to reduce employees across the board, according to multiple reports.
Last month, the National Weather Service confirmed it would seek to hire 126 people following the massive layoffs. A spokesperson said at the time that positions would help further “stabilize” operations.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump called the disaster in Texas horrible, but he insisted the NWS vacancies did not contribute to it.
“I’ll tell you, if you look at that, what a situation that all is. That was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup, but I wouldn’t blame Biden for it either,” Trump said. “I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch.”
The president would not talk about his plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Sunday, noting that they were busy working. He suggested he would probably visit Texas on Friday.
GOP Texas Sen. Ted Cruz warned against partisan finger-pointing and laying blame during a press conference with state officials on Monday.
He said there would be a time for retrospection in the future, but he pushed back on staffing issues at the National Weather Service contributing to the disaster.
