President Trump to Visit Texas Amid Ongoing Flood Recovery Efforts
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Texas on Friday to meet with first responders and families affected by last week’s devastating floods, which have claimed more than 100 lives.
During the visit, the president is expected to receive a briefing from local officials and speak with relatives of victims. Texas Governor Greg Abbott will accompany the president throughout the trip.
Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have announced plans to join the president in surveying the flood damage. It remains unclear whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a vocal supporter of Trump who is challenging Cornyn in the 2026 GOP primary, will also attend.
Rescue teams continue searching along the Guadalupe River for more than 150 people still unaccounted for. Among the dead or presumed dead are 27 children and camp counselors from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in Hunt.
Earlier this week, Trump signed a major disaster declaration, unlocking federal funds for Kerr County — a region where he won nearly 77% of the vote in 2024. This will mark his second visit to a natural disaster site since beginning his second term, following a trip to Los Angeles in January after wildfires ravaged parts of Southern California. During his first term, he visited Texas multiple times in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and traveled to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
The administration has faced sharp criticism over its handling of the crisis, with some officials and lawmakers blaming recent cuts to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — as well as efforts to dismantle FEMA — for hampering early warnings and worsening the disaster’s impact. White House officials have dismissed those claims.
Trump has vowed to eliminate FEMA, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, and under his administration, the agency has seen a wave of senior staff departures. Critics argue these changes have weakened FEMA’s ability to respond quickly to emergencies. Concerns have intensified following a new directive by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requiring her personal approval for any agency spending over $100,000.
When asked Thursday by NBC News whether this policy contributed to delays in FEMA’s response, Trump defended Noem. “We were right on time. We were there — in fact, she was the first one I saw on television,” Trump said in an interview with Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. “She was there right from the beginning.”
Local authorities in Kerr County have also come under scrutiny after failing to act on FEMA warnings by sending out emergency text alerts as floodwaters rapidly rose. The region, known as “flash flood alley,” was caught off guard. Officials have also acknowledged that the county has no siren system, citing cost concerns.
On Thursday, Trump called for more flood alarms across Texas, while emphasizing that the storm was unpredictable. “Nobody ever saw a thing like this coming,” he told NBC. “After seeing this horrible event, I imagine you’d install alarms — something that detects large amounts of water or whatever it is.”
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring told MSNBC’s Katy Tur that an attempt to install a siren system nearly a decade ago was rejected. “The county looked into that in 2017, and from what I understand, their grant application was denied,” Herring said. “I wasn’t in office back then, but it sounds like we tried, asked for help, and were turned down.”
