KERRVILLE, Texas — President Donald Trump repeatedly lamented Friday that he had “never seen anything like” the devastation in central Texas after viewing damage from the catastrophic flash floods that swept through the region a week ago and killed more than 100 people.

“All across the country, Americans' hearts are shattered,” Trump said. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump repeatedly lamented that he had “never seen anything like” the devastation in central Texas after viewing damage from the catastrophic flash flood that swept through the region a week ago and killed more than 100 people
  • Looming large over the president’s visit on Friday is significant questions about the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been assisting with response efforts in Texas since the July 4 flood
  • Trump and key officials in his administration have repeatedly vowed to eliminate it as it exists today, and instead shift more control and responsibility to states but the president appeared to laud the agency's response in Texas, saying there are some "good people running FEMA"

  • Trump first received a briefing from Texas Emergency Management and Kerrville Fire Dept officials before participating in a roundtable discussion, where he said he had just met with families impacted by the deadly flood

Looming large over the president’s visit were significant questions about the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been assisting with response efforts in Texas since the July 4 flood. Trump and key officials in his administration have repeatedly vowed to eliminate it as it exists today and instead shift more control and responsibility to states. 

But leading a roundtable discussion with state and local officials in the hard-hit Texas city of Kerrville, Trump touted the agency’s response under his administration, noting it has deployed “multiple emergency response units” and declaring there are “some good people running FEMA.” 

“We got some good ones,” he added. “They failed us in North Carolina, but when we got in on Jan. 20, they fixed it up in no time.” 

The president was referring to the agency’s response to Hurricane Helene, which pummeled North Carolina last fall. Trump made a visit to the state to tour damage from the storm, the first trip of his second term in office, which came just days after he was inaugurated. That is where he first seriously floated the idea of shuttering FEMA.

The president’s apparent praise of FEMA in Texas adds another level to the already existing confusion around his intention for the federal disaster response agency in the wake of the deadly flash floods in Texas. Since then, Trump, who made clear just last month that he wants to do away with the agency after the current hurricane season concludes, has deferred on any questions about it. 

He twice told reporters this week he would talk about FEMA's future at a later time. 

Meanwhile, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who first traveled to the impacted central Texas area almost immediately after the flood, touted at the roundtable that the administration has had “more than 700 different FEMA employees and volunteers” on the ground in the state.

“All of your assets that you have as a federal government are deployed to help this community restore, but also to heal,” Noem said.

That comment came just two days after the Homeland Security secretary, whose department houses FEMA, said the agency must be “eliminated as it exists today and remade into a responsive agency” during her video appearance at a meeting of the FEMA Review Council, which Trump created as part of his pledge to reshape it. 

Also at the roundtable, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the president and his administration for what he said was its immediate approval of his request for a disaster declaration in the state.  

“This is the fastest that I’m aware of of any administration responding so swiftly, so collaboratively, so coordinated,” he said. 

Upon landing in central Texas, where the president was greeted by Abbott, Trump first stopped at an area near the Guadalupe River where a tractor-trailer was overturned to receive a briefing from Texas Emergency Management and Kerrville Fire Department officials. He then made his way to Happy State Bank Expo Hall for the roundtable with officials. Entering the hall, the president also noted that he had just met with families impacted by the deadly floods. 

“All the beautiful souls, and we're filled with grief and devastation, the loss of life.” the president lamented. 

He was joined on the trip by first lady Melania Trump, who expressed her grief for the families as well during her own brief remarks at the roundtable. The first lady was also present for Trump’s trip to North Carolina at the beginning of his term. 

Trump noted that officials are “still looking” for people, with more than 170 people still reported missing. He went on to talk about Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp in Texas, which saw at least 27 people killed as a result of the flood.

“A legendary camp, a camp that people would want to go to from all over the country,” Trump said. 

The president declared that he was “not going to let a thing like this happen again” and that he was working with officials to “find out exactly what can be done,” which comes as his administration has sought to hit back against calls from a few Democrats for probes into whether staffing cuts implemented by Trump’s government downsizing campaign, led by the U.S. DOGE Service, impacted the National Weather Service response. 

Trump also lauded the fact that Texas was “fully funded” to respond to the disaster. Last month, Trump said that wildfire recovery aid requested by California months ago could be impacted due to his feud with the state’s Democratic governor.