The President announced on Thursday that he has greenlit funding for storm recovery initiatives in several states, with North Carolina being a key focus as its residents continue to face the consequences of Hurricane Helen.
In a statement posted on a social media platform, he mentioned having discussions with legislators from each affected state.
Trump stated that he has allocated nearly $32 million for North Carolina, responding to the floods that occurred in July due to tropical depression Chantal. He noted that he had reached out to Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Senate candidate Michael Whatley (R), and other Republicans and had informed Democratic Governor Josh Stein regarding this decision.
Senator Budd has previously been vocal about the slow pace at which funds were being allocated for recovery from Hurricane Helen, which caused significant destruction in North Carolina last year. He suggested that he might withhold support for nominees
Additionally, Trump declared nearly $30 million in aid for Wisconsin on the same day, intended for recovery from severe storms and flooding that hit in August. This approval followed a conversation with Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Governor Tony Evers (D) had requested a disaster declaration from the President at the end of August. Vice President Vance had visited Wisconsin in August and conveyed concerns regarding the lack of approval for the disaster declaration, which was meant to assist recovery efforts in the Milwaukee area after significant flooding. On Thursday, Trump also announced $5.7 million to assist Kansas in recovering from a violent storm and tornado and $500,000 for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe in South Dakota, following flooding that took place earlier this year. According to an Associated Press Analysis, the Trump administration typically took more than a month on average to approve disaster declarations, which are crucial for providing federal support to states recovering from natural disasters. This compares starkly to the 1990s and early 2000s, when approvals were often granted in under two weeks.
