The Trump administration approved major disaster declarations for at least seven states this week, clearing the way for federal aid after severe weather and other recent damage. FEMA released the approvals on Saturday, saying Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota and Washington were granted declarations.
The decisions matter because major disaster declarations can unlock federal support for recovery needs, including repairs to public infrastructure and aid for survivors. They also came as the agency’s Disaster Relief Fund was running low during an eight-week shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, even though the fund itself does not lapse when the government closes.
The approvals arrived weeks into Markwayne Mullin’s tenure overseeing the disaster relief agency after President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem in March. Mullin said Tuesday that he planned to brief Trump that day on pending declaration requests, and he visited North Carolina to survey Hurricane Helene recovery work, saying, “We’re trying to push this stuff forward as fast as possible,”
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That pressure was still evident in the backlog. About 15 requests for assistance from other states and tribes tied to extreme weather events this year and last remained pending, along with three appeals of earlier denials. The DHS appropriations bill would replenish the Disaster Relief Fund with more than $26 billion, but those dollars were still tied up as the shutdown dragged on.
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The question now is not whether the administration can move on some cases; it already has. It is how quickly the rest of the pending requests and appeals can be resolved before the agency is forced to keep juggling fresh storm damage with a shrinking fund.