White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly rejected claims that President Donald Trump was responsible for the deadly floods in Texas that occurred over the holiday weekend and resulted in at least 104 fatalities. Leavitt described accusations linking Trump to the disaster as a "depraved lie" and emphasized that the flooding was an "act of God," not a failure of warning systems. She stated that early alerts were issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) before the floods struck in the early morning hours when most people were asleep. Leavitt also refuted allegations that staffing cuts to the NWS under the Trump administration contributed to inadequate disaster preparedness, affirming there were no staffing issues in Texas NWS offices. The Democratic National Committee and some media outlets had suggested that Trump’s administration cuts to the NWS impacted the response to the floods, but Leavitt condemned these claims as falsehoods that serve no purpose amid national mourning. The controversy has drawn criticism from both political and media figures, with some accusing Democrats and left-leaning media of politicizing the natural disaster.