U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is under fire for remarks he made in the wake of deadly Texas flooding that has killed over 80 people, claiming that now is not the time to politicize—or even examine—the tragedy, while also defending President Donald Trump.
Some are asking if the Trump administration’s staffing cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and specifically, the National Weather Service (NWS), which provides local weather forecasts and warnings across the country, were to blame for a possibly stunted response to the flash flooding on the Guadalupe River.
“State and local officials are calling out federal forecasters amid deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country over the extended Fourth of July weekend,” Texas NBC affiliate KXAN reported on Friday. “The criticism comes, as funding cuts and staff shortages plague the National Weather Service and other emergency management agencies nationwide.”
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On Monday at Public Notice, Noah Berlatsky wrote: “Retired federal scientists warned that the cuts could hamstring forecasts and make extreme weather events less predictable and more dangerous.”
“The New York Times reported that ‘crucial positions at the local offices of the National Weather Service were unfilled as severe rainfall inundated parts of Central Texas … prompting some experts to question whether staffing shortages made it harder for the forecasting agency to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose,” Berlatsky added. “Did Trump’s cuts cause excess deaths in Texas? It will probably be some time before we have a definitive answer to that question, if we ever do at all.”
Meanwhile, Senator Cruz on Monday told reporters (video below), “I think any time you’re dealing with major rivers, there’s a risk of flooding, and there’s always been a risk of flooding, particularly on the Guadalupe River.”
“One of the things that’s predictable is that you see some people engaging in, I think partisan games, and trying to blame their political opponents for a natural disaster. And you see that with a hurricane, with a tornado, with a wildfire, with this flooding, where people immediately say, “Well, the hurricane is Donald Trump’s fault.”
Cruz also insisted that there’s an “ordering of things,” and that not until after the search and rescue and not until after rebuilding can there be a “retrospective” to determine what could have been done differently.
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Critics blasted Cruz, with one noting that he “was asked a non-partisan question about a safety/warning system. His response was to be defensive and political in defending Trump.”
Others noted that Americans aren’t blaming the President for natural disasters, but for what some see as a hampered response given the drastic cuts made to the National Weather Service.
“No one is saying Trump caused the storm, Ted,” wrote “On Democracy” podcaster Fred Wellman. “We are asking if more could have been done to warn people? They were literally relying on a system of upstream camps calling one’s further down. It’s 2025. They should have had sirens, cell coverage improvements, and more. The county posted the warning on Facebook. Your job is to ask those questions not gaslight.”
“OK,” wrote actress Morgan Fairchild, “but was it ever communicated to you that it was a priority to have [a] warning system? Especially since the area is called Flood Alley…”
“Ted Cruz slams people for ‘engaging in partisan games’ just minutes after he praised Donald Trump as in essence the greatest president and said Trump made it clear he would be there for Texas,” observed SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah.
Watch the videos below or at this link.
Q: Was it ever communicated to you that it was a priority to have a warning system, so people have a chance to escape something like this?
TED CRUZ: Any time you’re dealing with major rivers, there’s a risk of flooding … you see people engaging in partisan games … people… pic.twitter.com/bVEBEXBLnd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2025
Ted Cruz: “Something went wrong … we’re got to have a better system of warning to get kids out of harm’s way.” pic.twitter.com/Ap3mc1pv1A
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2025
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