President Donald Trump is seeking a multibillion-dollar spending increase for disasters next year after vowing for months to cut the federal response to hurricanes, wildfires and other damaging events.
Trump asked Congress to approve a record-high $26.5 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund, which reimburses states for disaster cleanup and recovery. Trump’s request is 17 percent higher than President Joe Biden’s $22.5 billion request for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
“The numbers here kind of contradict the narrative recently — in a good way. It’s coming out better than expected,” said Carrie Speranza, head of the U.S. division of the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Since he took office in January, Trump has assailed the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the disaster fund, for what he said was a poor response to Hurricane Helene last fall in North Carolina. Trump has suggested “abolishing” the agency or scaling it back and giving states more responsibility for disasters.
