Sunday on Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker asked President Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about a report by the New York Times which revealed that thousands of calls from Texas flood victims to FEMA call centers went unanswered during the natural disaster.
The Times reported that Noem did not renew contracts to keep call centers staff in place until one week after the deadly floods in the Lone Star State.
When Welker asked Noem: “Why did it take so long to extend those contracts?”, Noem replied, “That’s just false, those contracts were in place. No employees were off of work, every one of them was answering calls. So, false reporting. Fake news.”
Note: The New York Times report was based on documents provided by a person briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal matters and the federal contracts with four call center companies that answer the vast majority of the calls.
WELKER: The New York Times is reporting thousands of calls from flood victims to FEMA call centers went unanswered because you did not renew contracts…
NOEM: False reporting, fake news
WELKER: On July 7th, 15.9% of calls were answered pic.twitter.com/cHmYritoKr
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 13, 2025
Welker said: “Just to be very clear, on July 7th, 15.9% of calls were answered. I mean, does that concern you?”
Noem repeated: “These contracts were in place and those people were in those call centers and they were picking up the phone and answering.”
Noem added: “That report needs to be validified [sic], I’m not certain that it’s accurate, and I’m not sure where it came from. 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.”
Note: When the Times asked the Department of Homeland Security for a comment regarding their report, “a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security who declined to be identified wrote in an email, ‘When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase. Despite this expected influx, FEMA’s disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.’”