President Trump defends federal flooding response in Texas visit

President Trump defended his administration's response to the Texas Hill Country flooding after surveying the damage and meeting with victims' families on Friday in Kerrville.The big picture: The president's visit comes amid questions about the federal response to the flooding, as he has pushed to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency.FEMA did not deploy search and rescue teams to Texas until more than 72 hours after the flooding, per CNN.Still, Trump arrived to friendly faces in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas officials have continued to praise his response.The latest: At least 121 people were confirmed dead and more than 170 still missing on Friday, a week after the floods hit, per CBS News.President Trump also on Friday approved Abbott's request for federal disaster assistance for more counties, in addition to the hard-hit Kerr County.What they're saying: "My administration is doing everything in its power to help Texas," Trump said at a roundtable press conference, surrounded by Texas Republican leaders."When the request was made for the emergency funds ... we gave it within about two minutes, maybe less, and they had everything they needed right immediately." By the numbers: The federal government has deployed more than 400 first responders to Texas, Trump said, and enabled more than 1,500 rescues.He did not specify what agency those first responders were working for, but said FEMA has deployed "multiple emergency response units."State of play: Trump signed the first major disaster declaration on Sunday, two days after the July Fourth flooding, for the hard hit Kerr County, about an hour's drive northwest of San Antonio. It will help people with things like temporary housing and home repairs that aren't covered by insurance.FEMA also worked with the state to open a Disaster Recovery Center on Thursday.Between the lines: Trump deflected questions about blame and what went wrong in warning people about the flooding. Meanwhile, he said the administration is "taking historic action to ensure that such a nightmare never happens again."

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