Did Project 2025 and DOGE Affect Weather Service Notifications During the Texas Flood?
Trump and the GOP are killing their voters and supporters.
The buildings and camp property grounds of Camp Mystic, a popular Christian girls’ summer camp in Hunt, Texas. The photo is courtesy of Camp Mystic.com.
The national mainstream media is slowly starting to ask who is responsible for the devastating mass flash floods in central Texas over the July 4th weekend.
Thus far, at least 108 people have died, and 23 are missing after severe flooding inundated central Texas during the early hours of Friday, July 4, 2025. Most of the fatalities occurred in Kerr County, with 28 children losing their lives at Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp located in the area.
According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a massive search is underway for those missing, involving more than 20 state agencies and hundreds of volunteers.
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A promotional photo for Camp Mystic. The image is courtesy of Camp Mystic.com.
Questions are emerging from local meteorologists, state officials, and social media users regarding why the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) did not effectively inform Texans of the dangers from the severe weather over the weekend.
What did the weather forecasts predict? Why couldn’t anyone forecast which parts of Texas would face heavy rain? Did Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff reductions to the National Weather Service, along with other federal budget cuts to the NOAA by the Trump administration, contribute to the disastrous flood in Texas?
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A wall is missing from a building at Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5th, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. The photo is courtesy of Julio Cortez and the Associated Press.
In 2024, Donald Trump’s campaign featured his promise to cut the federal bureaucracy and trim the budget.
Although Mr. Trump denied any awareness of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s lengthy, over 900-page list of policy restrictions for his second term, the extensive document was created with help from numerous former members of his first administration (2016-2021). Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20th of this year, his administration has already implemented nearly half of the Heritage Foundation’s suggestions for cutting the federal bureaucracy and reducing the budget.
Recent national civil service retirees report that the extensive cuts have resulted in many federal offices being understaffed, and the remaining staff are demoralized. The employees who remain say they still fear that more jobs will be lost in a future reduction-in-force.
Federal agencies were required to create a plan for additional reductions; however, in May, a federal judge in California ruled that the job cuts could not proceed.
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The image of Texas during the flash floods is courtesy of ABC News.
In Texas, the weather service office for the Austin and San Antonio region oversees most of the Hill Country area, where the flooding occurred over the weekend.
Victor Murphy, a recently retired meteorologist from the Texas weather service, reported that six of the 26 staff positions in the office are currently vacant, including two senior-level jobs. One of these roles is the warning coordination meteorologist, who manages emergency warnings and collaborates with local officials on communication during natural disaster events such as the flood in central Texas over the holiday weekend.
The vacant position may have hindered communication with local emergency managers in Kerr County, says Jeff Masters, the co-founder of Weather Underground, a commercial weather forecasting agency, and a former hurricane scientist with the NOAA.
“It [the Texas flood] reminds us how important it is to have talented, experienced people at a well-funded National Weather Service,” said Masters.
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The graphic image of the National Weather Service is courtesy of WAMC, Buffalo, and Toronto.
“The real blame is the Trump Administration budget cuts to NWS and FEMA that cut off coordination planning with local emergency management officials,” Masters continued.
Rick Spinrad, another former NOAA Administrator, agrees with Jeff Masters. “Staff cuts at a local NOAA weather forecast office may have been a contributing factor in the inability of local emergency managers to respond to rising floodwaters Friday in a timely manner,” said Spinrad.
Donald Trump’s first term saw the rollback of numerous public health regulations, climate change mitigation policies, and environmental protections, including clean air and water standards. These changes have direct and indirect impacts on public health, as pollution and climate change are major health determinants.
The full, devastating impact of Mr. Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will not be known for years.
Nevertheless, the death and destruction of Project 2025 and Elon Musk’s “DOGE” are already being felt by Trump voters and “MAGA” supporters across America.