The U.S. Senate's top Democrat on Monday asked a government watchdog to investigate whether cuts at the National Weather Service affected the forecasting agency's response to catastrophic and deadly flooding in Central Texas.

Some Democratic leaders are calling for an investigation into the National Weather Service to determine if the reported staffing shortages affected the forecast and response to the holiday weekend’s flash floods.

The White House is defending the National Weather Service and accusing some Democrats of playing politics in the wake of devastating floods in Texas.