The Senator Tuesday said she was managing the Federal Emergency Administration (FEMA) and how President Donald Trump’s attempt to dismantle the agency’s governing body responding to a series of devastating storms throughout the southern United States.
During a hearing on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked Norm that she would be requesting standby for Missouri’s federal disaster declaration, caused by a series of deadly tornadoes that have not yet been approved by the president. Mississippi is still recovering from extreme weather events in March, and he is still waiting for the approval of a historic disaster relief declaration for months.
"The state claims for three major disaster declarations made in the earlier storm we lost in a dozen people. Well, in fact, if you count the people we lost only Friday, we now lost nearly 20 people in the last two months of Missouri," Hawley said.
"Will you help these three major disaster declaration requests, will you speed up Secretary Norm and get approval for those who are in front of the president?" Holley asked. “We are desperate to help in Missouri.”
Norm replied that she would ensure that the application would be submitted to Trump as soon as possible and agreed to speed up personal assistance to qualified Missourians affected by the recent storm.
Famous Republican lawmakers such as Hawley begged the Republican administration to approve emergency assistance from the Republican state, which shows how serious the federal agency has in charge of the welfare of vulnerable groups.
The plea comes on the day after St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer told MSNBC that “FEMA is not present” and that the city “has not confirmed FEMA’s help yet.”
"What we need now is federal aid. This is where the FEMA and the federal government must come in and help the community. Our cities can't occupy that alone. Missouri can't occupy that alone." "We need partners at the national level, at the federal level, step up helping - for St. Louis cities across the country, when they suffer such a disaster, that's what the federal government is for."
Last month, Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who had previously served as Trump's press secretary, sent a letter to the president asking him to reconsider the FEMA's refusal to announce the emergency disaster as the state recovered from a series of tornadoes in March. “Without the support of the Major Disaster Declaration, Arkansas will face significant challenges in taking full responsibility and engaging in effective recovery for this incident,” Sanders wrote in the letter. “Supplementing federal aid is crucial for recovery efforts.”
The statement was finally published on May 13, almost two months after the storm hit the state, when Heckabee wrote to the president for a month.
Meanwhile, Kentucky's Democratic Governor Andy Beshear appeared on CNN to discuss the tornado that killed 19 people in the state last week. "I'm very worried about cutting FEMA or the National Weather Service," Beshear said, adding: "But I want to make it clear that the Trump administration and Secretary Norm actually responded well on the ground.
The difference in response levels expresses a scattered, confusing way the Trump administration handles disaster responses.
In the months since Trump's tenure, FEMA has been hit by the so-called Ministry of Administration Efficiency (DOGE) initiative by Trump and Elon Musk. In March, Neum announced that she would completely “eliminate” the agency and transfer disaster management responsibilities to various states. FEMA's interim chief Cameron Hamilton, after testifying before Congress earlier this month, believed the agency's death would be detrimental to public welfare. His successor was David Richardson, a former Marine official, who sent a terrible warning to the staff: "Don't get in the way of me (…) because I'll go past you. I'll fulfill the president's intentions."
During a Senate hearing Tuesday, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recruited Neum to present the Trump administration’s plans for the gastrointestinal FEMA and how it will affect their ability to respond to disasters.
"You lost one fifth of your workforce at FEMA. What is your plan?" Blumenthal asked. “How will you meet the needs of our voters?”
Noem escaped the issue, talking about Blumenthal's attempt to redirect her, claiming that the agency was swelling and ineffective was the Biden administration's fault.
But while Trump's cabinet wants to put the administration's failure at the feet of his predecessor, the states currently trying to manage the fatal disaster have not sought help from Joe Biden - they begged for current White House residents.