Trump’s D.H.S. Nominee Says He Would Approach Disaster Policy Differently From Noem

“You told the media that I was a freaking snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force. You went on to brag that you’d already told me to my face that you completely understood and approved of the assault. Well, that’s a lie.” “I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having that I could understand why the neighbor did what he did. As far as my terms, the snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.” “I wanted to ask you if we can commit — if you can commit to revoking this $100,000 policy by Secretary Noem.” “Absolutely. That’s called micromanaging. And I don’t know if secretary put that in or someone else did. I’m not a micromanager. I think it needs to be restructured, not eliminated. Some of these agencies under the current administration — not some, all of them — got very bloated.” “Do you think there’s still too many staff at FEMA?” “Senator, I can’t answer that. When I get there, we’ll be adequately staffed to respond to our nation’s disasters.”