Disaster survivors in Arkansas left homeless by recent tornadoes have been blocked from receiving federal recovery aid after President Donald Trump rejected the state’s request to declare a major disaster in March.
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.
It is unclear how states will fill the financial void, which for decades has been viewed as a federal responsibility given the wide-reaching, multi-state nature of disasters.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on why it denied the disaster request.
In 2023, former President Joe Biden granted an Arkansas disaster declaration request following deadly tornadoes within 48 hours of the storms.
“They’re the ones that are responding, and we want to be able to bring them the resources as quickly as possible. »