The decision was likely in part due to the agency's delayed response to the flooding disaster in Central Texas. Senior FEMA leader Ken Pagurek told colleagues this was the last straw after months of frustration over President Donald Trump's repeated efforts to eliminate the agency, CNN reported.

The head of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue branch, which runs a network of teams stationed across the country that can swiftly respond to natural disasters, resigned on Monday.

Ken Pagurek had told colleagues the Trump administration was causing ‘chaos’ inside FEMA and creating dangerous delays in disaster response.