CNN: Four Officials from FEMA Say Kristi Noem’s Sign-Offs on Expenditures ‘Slowed the Federal Response’

COOPER: “So, according to four officials inside FEMA, that federal response may not have been as fast as it might have been. They say that a new rule that any expenditure over $100,000 needed sign-off from Secretary Noem slowed the federal response. These sources tell us that FEMA‘s deployment of urban search and rescue teams, which are typically deployed in anticipation they might be needed, instead was delayed until Monday, three days after the flood. Now, a source also tells us that a request Texas made for FEMA aerial imagery to aid in the search was also delayed waiting for Secretary Noem‘s approval. Now, additionally, multiple FEMA officials say that they were taken aback by the agency‘s relatively limited response in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. CNN has reached out to FEMA for comment. So far, no reply from the agency. However, a DHS spokeswoman more generally told CNN that FEMA is, in her words, ‘shifting from bloated D.C.-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens.’ Now, also, we learned today that the death of another Camp Mystic camper, Virginia Wynne Naylor, she was eight years old. Her family says she had a great love of the outdoors and of God, and that she danced through the world. Tim Walker was 63 and died, according to The Houston Chronicle, helping others survive. William Venus was a retired 33-year-old army veteran. His son says he was a great man whose primary goal was just helping others. José Olvera and Alicia Ramírez were originally from Mexico, but had lived in the area for decades. José was described as the heart of the ranch where he worked. Reporters have been trying to get details from officials about the flood warnings, but in press conferences they‘ve not answered the question and say they‘re focused on search-and-rescue.”