Trump denies disaster aid, tells states to do more

By Alex Brown Stateline org ISSAQUAH Wash In the wake of current natural disasters state leaders across the country are finding that emergency assistance from the federal leadership is no longer a given Under President Donald Trump the Federal Exigency Management Agency has denied federal assistance for tornadoes in Arkansas flooding in West Virginia and a windstorm in Washington state It also has refused North Carolina s request for extended relief funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene While it s not uncommon for the feds to turn down particular requests for accident declarations which unlock federal aid state leaders say the Trump administration s denials have taken them by surprise White House executives are signaling a new approach to federal emergency response even as Trump and Homeland Guard Secretary Kristi Noem threaten to shut down FEMA altogether The Federal Executive focuses its encouragement on truly catastrophic disasters massive hurricanes devastating earthquakes or wide-scale attacks on the homeland Brian Hughes a spokesman for the National Guard Council which advises the president on issues of national shield mentioned in a message to Stateline Related Articles Did Donald Trump or ABC News choose who would interview the president Why does it matter Army plans for a prospective parade on Trump s birthday call for soldiers AP learns Hegseth orders Army to cut costs by merging specific commands and slashing jobs Trump says it s Biden s business activity but businesses and economists beg to differ Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strip legal protections from Venezuelan settlers Hughes explained state and local governments often remain an impediment to their own society s resilience He called on states to take on a more extensive role States must have adequate exigency management staff adoption and enforcement of modern building codes responsible planning and strategic commitment to reduce future peril commonsense policies that prioritize preparedness over politics accident reserve funds to handle what should be routine emergencies pre-negotiated mutual aid and contingency contracts that speed up recovery and above all an appetite to own the issue the announcement disclosed State urgency management leaders say the federal retreat from mishap response has upended a long-established system This is very atypical explained Karina Shagren communications director with the Washington Military Department which oversees the state s exigency management division This is the first time in modern memory that we have hit all the indicators to get FEMA s inhabitants assistance plan and we ve been denied Michael Coen who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Obama and Biden administrations noted the president has broad discretion to approve or deny accident requests regardless of whether they meet specified conditions If Trump intends to curtail federal advocacy Coen explained he should give states clear guidelines They should have a dialogue with the states so the states aren t spinning their wheels making requests that are going to get denied Coen mentioned He added that states need guidance if they re expected to build exigency management programs to take on what the feds once handled Not all states Coen reported have the ceiling to replicate those functions And disasters are expected to increase in frequency and severity because of weather change Having that capability in every single state instead of having one FEMA is not the best use of tax dollars to prepare for the worst day he announced Historically FEMA has coordinated the federal response during crisis situations In the National Safety Council comment Hughes mentioned Trump has promptly authorized life-saving emergency sponsorship to states during and in the immediate aftermath of disasters But the agency s larger role has focused on recovery after disasters assessing damage and distributing funding to help communities rebuild Now specific communities are finding that backing is no longer a sure thing Issaquah Washington was among the cities hit hard by the bomb cyclone that ripped through the state last November Severe winds killed two people in the state knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of residents and caused millions in damage state representatives reported A city of about residents in the Cascade foothills Issaquah s costs from the storm totaled million covering road repairs removal of tons of tree debris and overtime pay for first responders Mayor Mary Lou Pauly reported the city has seen four events since that qualified for federal accident aid with no previous denials If Washington is unable to win its appeal with FEMA she declared Issaquah will take a financial hit to its reserves leaving it more vulnerable to future storms We put a lot of assets in being resilient Pauly stated When you get to a number like million that is too big of a number for us to be able to rebuild without assistance Our residents pay federal taxes and this is what they think they pay them for this is what they expect their national leadership to do They do not want me to set property taxes higher Pauly echoed Coen s view that FEMA should give states a clear outline of the role it will play What we all want to know is what are the rules of the match she declared If the criteria has changed then why aren t we getting recounted about it Washington state leaders announced they were shocked when FEMA denied their request for million to help repair roads utilities and power systems Democratic Gov Bob Ferguson mentioned the state s application met all of the very clear criteria to qualify He has vowed to appeal the decision We were really relying on that funding revealed Shagren of the Washington Military Department If the appeal is denied our local jurisdictions will have to prioritize which projects they can move forward with and which they don t They re going to be impacted greatly This wasn t particular small storm Other states also have been surprised by FEMA denials Arkansas suffered tornadoes in March triggering a request for a mishap declaration from Republican Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders But the feds advised state leaders to handle it on their own I t has been determined that the damage from this event was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state affected local governments and voluntary agencies the federal authorities s denial read according to Arkansas Times Sanders has appealed that decision saying the mishap caused widespread destruction that requires federal help In West Virginia state leaders required for accident aid to cover counties that were struck by flooding in February But FEMA denied individual assistance to seven of those counties Republican Gov Patrick Morrisey revealed in a comment that he is looking at options to appeal but praised the Trump administration for its strong advocacy following the floods Democratic leaders in the state have called on Morrisey to demand more help from the feds WOWK published Meanwhile FEMA has declared it will no longer match of North Carolina s spending to recover from September s Hurricane Helene Democratic Gov Josh Stein stated the cost share was crucial to the state s efforts to rebuild The need in western North Carolina remains immense people need debris removed homes rebuilt and roads restored Stein declared in a declaration according to NC Newsline I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA s bad decision even for days Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown stateline org States Newsroom Visit at stateline org Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC