In brief
Federal disaster assistance has been approved by President Trump for Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and tribes in Montana and South Dakota. However, the approvals come after significant delays, highlighting ongoing criticisms regarding the speed of federal aid during disasters. Recent analyses indicate that the wait time for aid has increased over the years across all administrations, with Trump's average approval time reaching 34 days. While his administration states that thorough reviews are ensuring wise spending of tax dollars, victims of disasters are expressing concern over the prolonged wait for necessary aid.
President Donald Trump has approved federal disaster aid for six states and tribes following storms and floods that occurred this spring and summer.
The disaster declarations, announced Thursday, allow federal funding to flow to Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, as well as tribes in Montana and South Dakota. In all cases except Wisconsin, it took more than a month for Trump to approve the aid requests, continuing a noted trend of longer waits for disaster relief according to a recent Associated Press analysis.
Since taking office, Trump has approved over 30 major natural disaster declarations. Prior to these, his approvals averaged a 34-day wait from the time requests were made. For the current declarations, the wait ranged from just 15 days for Wisconsin flooding in August to 56 days for a tribal request related to flooding in Montana in May.
The Associated Press analysis revealed that the average approval time for federal disaster aid requests rose over time, irrespective of which political party held power. In the 1990s and early 2000s, it typically took less than two weeks for such requests to be granted; this increased to about three weeks in the last decade, with Trump's first term averaging 24 days.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson informed the AP that Trump is conducting “a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any administration has before him” to ensure federal tax dollars are wisely spent. However, such delays mean affected individuals must wait to receive federal assistance for essential living expenses, temporary housing, and home repairs, while also complicating recovery efforts from local officials who await clarity on federal reimbursements.
The latest disaster declarations approved public assistance for local governments and nonprofits in all cases except Wisconsin, where individual assistance was also approved. Nonetheless, this does not rule out the possibility of the federal government later approving public assistance for Wisconsin as well.
