Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been exerting more direct control over the agency, which President Trump has talked about "getting rid of."

Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this hurricane season to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.

In the five months since Trump chose Neil Jacobs as NOAA administrator, hundreds of NOAA scientists and meteorologists have left the agency through a combination of firings, buyouts and retirements.

After the catastrophic flash flooding in central Texas on July 4, 2025, users online claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was ultimately to blame for the flood's 100 deaths due to staffing cuts at the National Weather Service.

They also renewed focus on the US government's ability to warn and protect residents from weather catastrophes. The intense rainfall and flash floods are the deadliest weather disaster in the US since President Donald Trump's administration conducted mass staff cuts at two key weather and climate agencies : the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organisation (NOAA) and its subsidiary,