Trump Rejects Rehiring Meteorologists After Flood Warning Lapses

President Donald Trump dismissed concerns that federal staffing reductions had created critical vacancies at the National Weather Service, telling reporters on Saturday that the agency still has “very talented people” and that “no one expected” the flash-flood emergency that struck this week. Asked whether the government is investigating links between the personnel cuts and the storm-warning shortfalls, Trump said there was “nothing to investigate,” contending that the “water situation” stemmed from decisions made under President Joe Biden rather than his own administration’s policies. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose department oversees the Weather Service, echoed the president, insisting that the cuts “did not” hamper forecasting or emergency coordination. Trump also said he sees no need to rehire meteorologists who were let go in recent months, arguing that the rapid onset of the disaster—not staffing levels—limited the government’s ability to issue timely alerts.