The homeland security secretary said a report that thousands of calls to a disaster hotline went unanswered because of staffing cuts was “false.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been exerting more direct control over the agency, which President Donald Trump has talked about "getting rid of."

Since the July 4 disaster, which has killed at least 120 people, the president and his top aides have focused on the once-in-a-lifetime nature of