Noem Delays Tens of Millions of Dollars in Grants, Risking Disaster Recovery Across the Country
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New reporting from the Washington Post, revealed that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's personal approval requirements for federal contracts slowed FEMA's response to over 1,000 contracts, grants, or disaster assistance awards disasters.
Per the analysis, based on a new report from Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Noem’s onerous requirement has created bottlenecks that delayed critical resources to affected communities. Career FEMA officials told the Post their response capabilities are constrained by the new approval processes—detailing how grants for people “who lost their homes and belongings in disasters, such as last year’s Los Angeles wildfires, the 2025 Texas floods, and 2024’s Hurricane Beryl,” have still been delayed since June.
"Deliberately delaying disaster aid to punish communities for their politics is a betrayal of FEMA's core mission and a violation of the public trust. Every day that aid is delayed is another day where families are sleeping in damaged homes, small businesses are unable to rebuild, and communities are left vulnerable to the next disaster,” said Rafael Lemaitre, Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member. “This report confirms that Noem's politicization of FEMA is making Americans less safe."
The Washington Post documented significant disparities in FEMA's response timelines across different disasters. Delays spread across:
Texas – July 2025 deadly flooding; disaster unemployment assistance
North Carolina – Western counties still waiting months after Hurricane Helene (fall 2024) for recovery funding; urban search and rescue
Florida – Multiple disasters; technical assistance task orders delayed; public assistance requests
Puerto Rico – Public assistance after Hurricane Maria
Oklahoma – Disaster unemployment assistance
Kentucky – Disaster unemployment assistance
Tennessee – Disaster unemployment assistance
Los Angeles – Wildfire housing grants still pending since June
The Southeast – General region affected by Hurricane Helene
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