ICE Barbie Kristi Noem applauds as Trump seeks help from the very source he brazenly decided to axe

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, dubbed “ICE Barbie” by critics for her unwavering loyalty to Donald Trump and hardline stance on immigration, is now applauding the deployment of federal emergency resources to Texas.

Those are the very same resources from agencies that Trump once promised to dismantle.

In a July 6 post on X, Noem offered glowing thanks to her boss:

“Thank you @POTUS Trump. We are currently deploying federal emergency management resources to Texas first responders, and will work closely with state and local authorities to ensure the people of Texas get the support they need as search efforts continue and recovery begins. Pray for the victims, the families, and our first responders. God bless Texas.”

That’s right. The same Trump who once floated slashing FEMA’s budget and warned that states should fend for themselves during disasters is now being heralded for unleashing federal assistance by the woman in charge of the very department he once sought to neuter.

Texas floods, FEMA script flips

Days of relentless rainfall beginning July 3 unleashed devastating flooding across Central Texas. Rivers surged past their banks, emergency services were overwhelmed, and entire communities in the Austin-San Marcos region faced catastrophic damage. Dozens remain missing.

Into this disaster stepped Noem, deploying resources from the very agencies her boss repeatedly undermined. FEMA is now coordinating with Texas officials, but the irony couldn’t be thicker: Trump has treated the agency like a political nuisance.

Homeland security by hashtag

As head of the Department of Homeland Security, Noem now oversees FEMA’s operations. In her post, there was no mention of Trump’s prior attempts to gut the very infrastructure she’s now deploying. No reference to how years of federal underinvestment may have hindered early warning systems or slowed recovery. Just prayers, hashtags, and performative patriotism.

The politics of federal help

This is classic Trump-era governance: vilify federal aid when it suits the narrative of rugged individualism, then take a victory lap when you send in the cavalry. Noem plays her part with perfect discipline, cheering on a rescue effort built on the bones of agencies her administration previously called wasteful.

But the flood victims don’t have time for irony. They need help. And if it takes a little federal hypocrisy to get it, maybe that’s just part of the new American emergency response model. After all, in MAGA-world, nothing says leadership like cleaning up the mess you once promised to let drown.