The Trump administration denied Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request for individual and public assistance following an outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes that also affected neighboring Mississippi and Missouri and left more than 40 people dead.
The denial follows executive orders signed by Trump seeking to shift the burden of disaster response and recovery from the federal government onto states, as extreme weather becomes increasingly destructive and costly in a warming world.
The denial of the request, dated April 11, said the Trump administration had “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. Accordingly, we have determined that supplemental federal assistance is not necessary.”
64% of the state voted for Trump.
Hope their bootstraps survived the carnage.
FEMA also pulled nurses, nurse practitioners, and such out of Federal positions to send them to the COVID front lines to fill staffing gaps while that was happening. It’s important to note the full breadth of FEMA. It’s not only money, it’s skilled personnel “borrowing” and coordination. National guard includes medical staff.