T he White House and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz defended the National Weather Service and accused some Democrats of playing politics in the wake of devastating floods in Texas. "I think this is not a time for partisan finger-pointing and attacks," Cruz said at a news conference with local officials in Kerr County on Monday morning.

The White House defended its national forecast agency on Monday ahead of an expected visit from President Donald Trump to Central Texas and as questions have emerged about the response to weather warnings ahead of the deadly flooding that killed at least 90 people in the region.

The criticism comes after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an investigation into whether staffing or recent cuts to federal spending at NWS contributed to the disaster, which has since killed over 80 people.