Trump approves federal disaster aid for storms and flooding in 6 states
By DAVID A LIEB and M K WILDEMAN Associated Press President Donald Trump has approved federal catastrophe aid for six states and tribes following storms and floods that occurred this spring and summer The calamity declarations released Thursday will allow federal funding to flow to Kansas North Carolina North Dakota and Wisconsin and for tribes in Montana and South Dakota In each situation except Wisconsin it took Trump more than a month to approve the aid requests from local leaders continuing a trend of longer waits for tragedy relief noted by a latest Associated Press analysis Trump has now approved more than major natural accident declarations since taking office in January Before the latest batch his approvals had averaged a -day wait from the time the relief was requested For his the bulk newest declarations that wait ranged from just days following an aid request for Wisconsin flooding in August to days following a tribal request for Montana flooding that occurred in May The AP s analysis established that delays in approving federal accident aid have grown over time regardless of the party in power On average it took less than two weeks for requests for a presidential accident declaration to be granted in the s and early s That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties During Trump s first term in office it took him an average of days to approve requests White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson reported the AP that Trump is providing a more thorough review of tragedy declaration requests than any Administration has before him to make sure that federal tax dollars are spent wisely But delays mean individuals must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses temporary lodging and home repairs Delays in tragedy declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local authorities uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure Trump s latest declarations approved society assistance for local governments and nonprofits in all cases except Wisconsin where assistance for individuals was approved But that doesn t preclude the federal governing body from later also approving citizens assistance for Wisconsin Preliminary estimates from Democratic Wisconsin Gov Tony Evers administration reported more than residential structures were destroyed or suffered major damage in August flooding at a cost of more than million There was also more than million in population sector damage over six counties according to the Evers administration Evers requested aid for residents in six counties but Trump approved it only for three Related Articles A large number of Black Latino people can t get opioid addiction med Medicaid cuts may make it harder Utah s governor in impassioned remarks urges Americans to find off-ramp from political violence With Hyundai raid Trump s immigration crackdown runs into his push for foreign funding Schumer warns of a shutdown if Republicans don t accept Democrats healthcare care demands Kavanaugh says no one has too much power in US system Critics see Supreme Court bowing to Trump I will continue to urge the Trump Administration to approve the remainder of my request and I will keep fighting to make sure Wisconsin receives every deposit that is needed and available Evers noted in a report in which he thanked Democratic officeholders for their efforts but not Trump or any Republicans Trump had communicated several of the mishap declarations including Wisconsin s on his social media site while noting his victories in those states and highlighting their Republican agents He received thanks from Democratic North Carolina Gov Josh Stein and Republican representatives elsewhere Trump s approval of six major catastrophe declarations in one day would have been remarkable for particular presidents but not for him Trump approved seven mishap requests on July and nine on May But Trump has not approved requests for hazard mitigation assistance a once-typical add-on that helps recipients build back with resilience since February Associated Press writers Gabriela Aoun Angueira Scott Bauer Jack Dura and Gary D Robertson contributed to this overview
