The Trump Administration Is Rolling Out a New Way to Shrink FEMA’s Role
FEMA officials recently denied two state requests for resilience funds after disasters, a departure from how previous administrations handled recovery efforts.
Damage and debris following the March 31 EF3 tornado that left four persons dead and 28 injured in Wynne, Arkansas, on April 10
Photographer: Jason Whitman/NurPhoto/AP Photo
When a series of deadly storms and tornadoes pummeled Arkansas in mid-March, downing power lines and tearing up homes, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders asked the federal government for money to not only help repair the damage, but also boost the state’s defenses against future disasters.
On May 8, President Donald Trump approved the state’s request for funds to help individuals and families recover. But a week later, the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Huckabee Sanders, a Republican who was Trump's press secretary during his first term, that it was denying the second pot of money — the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program — to help the state rebuild stronger, according to a rejection letter seen by Bloomberg News.
Later in the month, the agency denied a hazard mitigation funding request from Virginia, weeks after Trump approved other aid as part of a major disaster declaration for mid-February winter storms. Virginia officials say they "are exploring the appeals process but do not have any further details."