The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new thing is to deny obviously needed support to disaster-struck areas, even where a Republican is in charge. It is producing some… interesting responses.
“Despite today’s notification, I am grateful to the Trump Administration for their strong support for southern West Virginia’s recovery following the February floods,” said West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey, in a statement on Tuesday. The flooding in question killed multiple people, and the recovery from them has been slow, with officials on the ground still asking for help months later. To be fair to Morrisey, FEMA did previously approve assistance requests for some West Virginia counties — but not a bunch of others.
The “thank you sir may I have another” sort of answer from the governor isn’t playing that well at home. “Instead of fighting to defend you, Governor Morrisey released a statement doing what he knows best—puckering up to the current administration,” said the state House minority Whip Shawn Fluharty.
Morrisey went on to say that the FEMA rejection comes with an option to appeal. “I will look at all options to do so,” he said.
Meanwhile, FEMA also rejected a similar request from Arkansas following severe, damaging storms that hit in mid-March and again a few weeks later. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded a tad more formally, sending a letter to Trump appealing the decision and detailing the storms themselves, the damage they caused, the state’s response, and more.
“Since 2023, Arkansas has experienced an unprecedented frequency of disasters, with four federally declared disasters and ten state-declared disasters,” Huckabee Sanders wrote. “The cumulative effect of repeated disasters has led to widespread disaster fatigue among residents and responders alike.” She went on to say that responding to the collection of disasters “exceeds the capability” of the state — exactly what states and anyone else paying attention said would be the case when Trump and his minions floated the idea of eliminating FEMA entirely. Trump has previously shown a willingness to punish blue states by withholding disaster aid — like just last week in Washington — but now through either general administrative atrophy, more general outright hostility, or sheer incompetence, that rot is spreading everywhere.
“I respectfully ask that you consider the significant strain the citizens of Arkansas have endured over the past month,” Huckabee Sanders wrote to a man who has proven again and again that people outside of his current field of vision functionally do not exist for him. “Your favorable consideration of this declaration is truly appreciated.”
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