NBC host Kristen Welker called out Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly responded to fewer than 16% of calls in response to the recent deadly flooding in Texas.
“The New York Times is reporting that thousands of calls from flood victims to FEMA call centers went unanswered in the middle of this ongoing disaster because you didn’t renew contracts to keep call center staff in place until nearly one week after the floods,” Welker told Noem on Sunday. “Why did it take so long to extend those contracts?”
“It’s just false. Those contracts were in place,” the DHS secretary replied. “So false reporting, fake news, and it’s discouraging.”
“Just to be very clear, on July 7th, 15.9% of calls were answered,” Welker pressed. “I mean, does that concern you that only 15% of calls were answered? These are people in a desperate state.”
Noem, however, again insisted that the “contracts were in place and those people were in those call centers and they were picking up the phone and answering these calls.”
“So that report needs to be valid if — I’d — I’m not certain it’s accurate and I’m not sure where it came from,” she said. “And the individuals who are giving you information out of FEMA, I’d love to have them put their names behind it because the anonymous attacks to politicize this situation is completely wrong.”
“I care,” she added. “These emergencies need to be conducted exactly how President Trump handled this one.”
