Tag: emergency management

Buzz60 WASHINGTON – Hours after a deadly tornado ripped through Alabama over the weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to promise the state would receive "A Plus treatment" from the federal government as local officials began their recovery. "Hurricanes don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. Tornadoes don't care if you live in a red or a blue state." And Trump previously tweeted words of support to Puerto Rico and California similar to those he used for Alabama. "Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money," Trump wrote in January. Trump has used the "A Plus" line before, recalling the grade former FEMA administrators gave him for the response to the hurricanes in 2017 that affected Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Talk versus action Trump made 118 major disaster declarations during the first two years of his presidency, and even his critics acknowledge there is no evidence that politics has played a role in that process. The president claimed last fall, without evidence, that Puerto Rico was planning to use federal disaster money to pay off its debt. But Erica González, acting director of Power 4 Puerto Rico, a coalition that advocates for the island, said the island deserved better from its government. "Where was that A-plus urgency ... when it came to helping the people of Puerto Rico?"

The head of a federal disaster relief agency under former President Barack Obama blasted President Trump on Saturday for his handling of recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, accusing him of "malpractice." "He didn't hold a high level meeting on the storm response until Tuesday - SIX DAYS after landfall. "Storm played out exactly as forecast. Was clear it would be devastating, and it was. And then....the President left things on autopilot," Konyndyk added. "That has had real, tangible, harmful consequences for the speed and effectiveness of the response," Konyndyk tweeted. "It makes me so mad I could spit." Trump has repeatedly defended his administration's response to the storm-ravaged island, where local officials have pushed for federal supplies and power after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the U.S. territory earlier this month. Local officials estimate the island could be without fully restored power for up to six months. "Such poor leadership ability by the mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help."

(CNN)President Donald Trump bucked his own party Wednesday and sided with Democrats to support a deal that would ensure passage of disaster relief funding as well as raising the debt ceiling and continuing to fund the government into December. In a rebuke to Republican leaders, Trump backed Democrats' plan to support a deal that would fund Hurricane Harvey aid but only raise the debt ceiling for three months. Ignoring the advice of Republican congressional leadership and that of his own treasury secretary, Trump said he wanted a solution and supported the Democratic plan, according to a source briefed on a meeting that Trump held with congressional leaders Wednesday. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that he'd reached an agreement with congressional leaders to raise the debt ceiling, provide disaster relief funding and pass a short-term spending bill. "We had a very good meeting," Trump said of his conversation earlier in the day with top Democratic and Republican leaders at the White House. "We essentially came to a deal and I think the deal will be very good." Republican leaders, according to the source, pushed for an 18-month debt limit hike, then floated six months. Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, entered the Oval Office toward the end of the meeting to say hello, the source added. House Speaker Paul Ryan earlier called the Democratic leaders' push for a short, three-month increase in the debt limit "a ridiculous idea." Democratic leaders made their announcement Wednesday morning, saying in a statement they would support a debt ceiling bill being tied to Harvey aid, but only if the measure to avoid default lasted for three months.