President Donald Trump has approved federal disaster declarations for six states and tribal communities following storms and flooding that occurred earlier this year, the White House announced Thursday.
The approvals will provide federal funding to Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, as well as to tribes in Montana and South Dakota, according to The Associated Press.
The declarations will allow the affected regions to receive aid for recovery efforts, including debris removal, infrastructure repair, and in some cases, individual financial assistance.
In most cases, however, the aid approvals came more than a month after local officials requested federal assistance — a delay that continues a trend highlighted by a recent Associated Press analysis showing longer wait times for federal disaster relief during Trump’s presidency.
Trump has now approved more than 30 major disaster declarations since taking office in January. Prior to this latest round, his average approval time stood at 34 days after an official request. For the newest declarations, approval times ranged from 15 days for Wisconsin’s flooding in August, to 56 days for a tribal request in Montana related to flooding in May.
The AP analysis noted that delays in federal disaster approvals have increased over time, regardless of which party controls the White House. In the 1990s and early 2000s, presidential disaster declarations typically took less than two weeks. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Under Trump’s first term, the average wait time has been 24 days.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the longer review process, telling the AP:
“President Trump is providing a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him to make sure that federal tax dollars are spent wisely.”
But critics argue that these delays mean individuals and communities often must wait longer for essential federal aid, including support for daily living expenses, temporary housing, and home repairs. Recovery efforts by local governments can also be slowed by the uncertainty of whether federal reimbursement will come through, impacting timelines for clearing debris and rebuilding.
Of the six new declarations, public assistance for local governments and nonprofit organizations was approved in all cases except Wisconsin, where individual assistance was prioritized instead. However, public assistance for Wisconsin could still be added at a later date.
As severe weather events become more frequent and costly, disaster declarations — and how quickly they are approved — have become increasingly critical to recovery across the country.
