WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Texas lawmakers on Friday defended the federal government’s response to the deadly July Fourth flooding in Central Texas, claiming that aid was quickly dispatched to reeling communities after the floodwaters swept through.

President Donald Trump is touring the devastation left by flash flooding in central Texas amid growing questions about how local officials responded to the crisis as well as questions about the federal response -- including the fate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- that he has so far avoided.