KERR COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – In the aftermath of deadly Hill Country flooding, Texas’ junior Republican U.S. Senator is defending the National Weather Service, as questions surface over the agency’s forecast timing, urgency and communication.

“I think there have been some eager to point at the National Weather Service and say cuts there led to a lack of warning,” Sen. Ted Cruz said during a press event with Gov. Greg Abbott Monday in Kerr County, where dozens died after the Guadalupe River tumbled over its banks July 4. “I think that's contradicted the facts.”

Also on Monday, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged the Commerce Department to investigate NWS vacancies and whether they contributed to the death toll and affected the agency's ability to coordinate with local emergency officials.

“This is a national tragedy which people across the country are mourning," Schumer wrote to Duane Townsend, the Commerce Department’s acting inspector general. "The American people deserve answers."

The Trump administration made cuts to the federal workforce an early priority in the president’s second term this year, and those reductions extended to the NWS.

KXAN has previously reported six vacancies in the NWS Austin/San Antonio, according to its online staff roster and the NWS Employees Organization. Those include three meteorologists, two technology staff members and a science officer. The office has 26 employees when fully staffed.

“They had........

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