As Central Texas reels from catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 69 people, a CNN segment on Sunday shifted the focus from rescue efforts to political blame. Anchor Dana Bash questioned whether climate change and staffing cuts under the Trump administration may have worsened the impact of the flood along the Guadalupe River, where rising waters took campers and residents by surprise in Kerr County.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), appearing on State of the Union, acknowledged that climate change could be a contributing factor to extreme weather. “These floods are happening more often in more parts of the country and really all over the world,” he said. “And so we have to face that reality and be better prepared for it and combat it.”
Bash then pivoted from climate to alleged federal staffing issues, specifically at National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Texas. “Two Texas National Weather Service offices involved in forecasting and warning about flooding on the Guadalupe River are missing some key staff members,” Bash noted. She pointed to CNN’s own reporting that one office lacked a “warning coordination meteorologist” due to buyouts during the Trump administration.
Bash quoted a union director who claimed these staff shortages could have impaired flood warnings to the public. “Do you have any indication whether those or any other cuts helped play a role in the fact that the people in the flood zone were not prepared and certainly not evacuated?” she asked Castro.
The congressman was cautious in his response. “I can’t say that conclusively,” he replied, although he said the possibility was concerning. Despite the lack of direct evidence, Bash’s line of questioning framed the disaster in a political light, implying links between past federal staffing decisions and current loss of life.
Critics argue that pointing fingers during an unfolding humanitarian emergency distracts from the need for effective response and accountability across all levels of government. With flood victims still missing and families mourning the dead, the focus for many remains on saving lives and rebuilding.
For many Americans watching this exchange, the concern isn’t whether climate change exists or if staffing gaps matter—it’s whether national tragedies are being used to settle political scores. In moments of crisis, people expect leadership, not lectures, and certainly not media spin trying to retrofit disaster into a partisan narrative.
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