President Donald Trump will head to Texas for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 120 people, which the administration has characterized as a once-in-a-lifetime event.
While the administration isn’t backing away from its pledges to shutter the Federal Emergency Management Agency and return disaster response to the states as part of Trump’s push to slash federal services, it has lessened its focus on the topic since the July 4 disaster, underscoring how tragedy can complicate political calculations.
The president is expected to do an aerial tour of some of the hard-hit areas, a relatively common practice that allows presidents to visit disaster sites and hopefully ease logistical burdens for authorities on the ground. The White House also says he’ll visit the state emergency operations center to meet with first responders and relatives of flood victims. Trump will also get a briefing from officials.
Here’s the latest:
Trump says ‘you’ll be seeing things happen’ on Russia
The president acknowledged a strike on a Ukrainian hospital. He’s expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and he’s promised a “major statement” on Monday.
Trump leaves the White House to visit Texas flood disaster
The president told reporters “it’s a horrible thing” what happened in Texas with the recent deadly floods.
He’s heading to Kerrville, where the rising Guadalupe River killed at least 120 people.
“Nobody can even believe it,” he said. “That much water, that fast.”
Trump extends major disaster declaration to more Texas counties
Ahead of his visit to flood-ravaged Central Texas, President Trump on Thursday approved a request from Gov. Abbott to extend the major disaster declaration beyond Kerr County to eight additional counties, making them eligible for direct financial assistance to recover and rebuild.
“I thank President Trump and his Administration for their swift and continued support,” Abbott said in statement Thursday. “Texas will continue to deploy all available resources and support to help those impacted until the job is done.”
More counties could be added to the disaster declaration as further information from the damage assessments becomes available, according to FEMA.
Vought says administration ‘on the verge’ of fulfilling promises to defund NPR and PBS
The White House budget chief said Republicans have been talking for years about eliminating federal money for public media, and now they have a chance to do exactly that.
Congress is slated to vote on recissions, which would claw back $9 billion in funding.
“It’s important that we finally take that opportunity to and not fall back on the tired old excuses,” Vought said.
He plans to be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to answer questions from lawmakers and he’s confident the legislation will pass.
Should the Fed stay independent? Vought won’t say
After his interview with CNBC, Vought spoke to reporters at the White House. He declined to say whether the Fed should continue to operate independently as it sets monetary policy, saying “I think the question is immaterial.”
He pivoted to criticizing the Fed’s headquarters overhaul.
“I know you guys want to make it more of a metaphysical question,” Vought said, but insisted “this is about the extent to which this building, this renovation project, is horrifying from a cost perspective.”
Trump administration keeps pressure on the Federal Reserve
Russell Vought, Trump’s top budget adviser, bobbed and weaved through an interview with CNBC as the White House ratchets up the pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower rates.
Vought said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who Trump wants to replace, has “mismanaged the institution” and “has been late at every turn” when it comes to setting monetary policy.
CNBC’s Joe Kernen asked if it was really the right time to lower interest rates, as the president has demanded. If the economy is as strong as Trump says, “that’s usually not a time where you need interest rate cuts.”
Vought said inflation isn’t a problem and “we want to see the benefits of a growing economy flow to all Americans,” such as with cheaper mortgages.
CNBC’s Melissa Lee pressed Vought on whether the administration’s concerns about the high cost of renovating the Fed’s headquarters was part of a pressure campaign to achieve lower rates.
“This is about the extent to which this building is incredibly expensive and overrun,” Vought said.
Trump’s schedule, according to the White House
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are scheduled to visit parts of Texas devastated by flooding before retiring to the Trump Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
9:30 a.m. — Trump and the first lady will depart Washington for Kerrville, Texas
2:10 p.m. — Following their noon arrival, they will meet with first responders and local authorities
3:15 p.m. — The president and first lady will depart for Bedminster, New Jersey
Trump to host the Philippine president this month to discuss trade and security in Asia
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s will visit the United States from July 20 to 22 but Philippine officials were still finalizing details of his meeting with Trump with the U.S. State Department, the Philippine government said. The allies have boosted mutual defense engagements, including large-scale combat exercises in the Philippines, to strengthen deterrence against China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the region.
Among the proposed topics for discussion is strengthening “peace through deterrence,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez told The Associated Press by telephone.
That echoed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ’s remarks about the U.S. military’s plan to ratchet up deterrence against China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea by intensifying security engagements with the Philippines and allied nations in the region.
▶ Read more about the Philippine president’s planned visit
The State Department is firing more than 1,300 employees
The firings Friday are in line with a dramatic reorganization plan unveiled by the Trump administration earlier this year.
The department is sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with domestic assignments in the United States, said a senior State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters ahead of individual notices being emailed to affected employees.
Foreign service officers affected will be placed immediately on administrative leave for 120 days, after which they’ll formally lose their jobs, according to an internal notice obtained by The Associated Press. For most affected civil servants, the separation period is 60 days, it said.
President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their Republican allies have lauded the move as overdue and necessary to make the department leaner and more efficient.
But the cuts have been roundly criticized by current and former diplomats who say they’ll weaken U.S. influence and its ability to counter existing and emerging threats abroad.
— Matthew Lee
