Approval delays stretch weeks and months under Trump
President Donald Trump has required the longest average approval times for major disaster declarations of any president on record, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data spanning back to 1989 — the year Congress set new statutory parameters for how such determinations are made. Residents of communities struck by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods have routinely faced waits of weeks or months before receiving a presidential sign-off on federal assistance, the AP found.
The data shows that Trump has approved roughly 65 requests for major disaster declarations since taking office. He has denied more than two dozen additional requests from states, tribal nations, and territories seeking federal financial support for recovery efforts.
A key finding in the AP analysis concerns the political geography of the denials. No previous president demonstrated a comparable disparity in rejection rates between states that supported them at the ballot box and those that did not. States that voted against Trump in the 2024 election were denied disaster aid at a significantly higher rate than those that backed him.
The delays and uneven denial pattern are unfolding as the Trump administration considers restructuring the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency that administers the disaster relief. Major disaster declarations, which unlock millions in federal recovery funding, are intended for events that overwhelm the capacity of state and local governments to respond on their own.
MSI previously reported that Trump approved major disaster declarations for at least seven states in April while simultaneously denying a separate request from Colorado even after FEMA’s acting administrator upheld the state’s appeal.