Gov. Sarah Sanders Credit: Brian Chilson
President Donald Trump has approved disaster assistance for dozens of Arkansas counties impacted by storms and flooding in April, a day after Gov. Sarah Sanders announced the state would launch a cost-sharing program to help cities and counties pay for damage from a previous round of storms in March.
Trump initially denied the state’s request for aid related to the March storms. He later agreed to provide some assistance, though less than Arkansas had requested. The state funding that Sanders announced Thursday is intended to help storm-affected communities with certain repairs in light of the federal government’s refusal to cover those costs — but it will still leave local authorities on the hook for 65% of the price tag.
Trump said Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover individual and public assistance for dozens of counties hit by the April storms. Individual assistance is a type of direct aid that targets individuals who are uninsured or underinsured. Public assistance is a separate type of aid that covers community needs like cleanup and the repair of public infrastructure.
Sanders had requested FEMA provide individual assistance for 25 counties and public assistance for 36 counties hit by the April storms. The impacted counties extend from southeast Arkansas to northeast Arkansas and suffered an estimated $12.6 million in damage, according to estimates included in Sanders’ request.
It was not immediately clear how much public assistance the federal government would provide. The feds generally pay 75% to 100% of the cost, but FEMA’s press release on the disaster declaration did not include those details Friday morning. A spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, the state’s disaster relief agency, did not immediately respond to questions.
Sanders announced Trump’s approval of the aid related to the April storms in a post on X Friday morning.
Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for standing with Arkansas! pic.twitter.com/1shQCpmdPr
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) May 23, 2025
Aid for the storm damage from March is a different matter.
After the state was hit by tornadoes on March 14-15, Sanders submitted a request for a federal major disaster declaration that would have freed up federal funds for assistance with recovery. Trump denied the request, and the leader of FEMA said the damage wasn’t anything the state and local communities couldn’t handle on their own. Sanders appealed that decision and said last week that Trump had reversed course and approved assistance for the March storms after she spoke to the president on the phone.
But a closer look at the FEMA announcement last week showed that Trump approved only individual assistance for the March storms — not public assistance, which Sanders had also requested in her appeal. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Friday that a spokesman for the governor’s office said the state wouldn’t appeal the denial.
On Thursday, Sanders appeared to acknowledge that the state, not the federal government, would be paying much of the costs. She announced a cost-sharing program under which cities and counties will be responsible for 65% of the cost associated with the cleanup and repair of public infrastructure related to the March storms. The state will pick up 35% of the tab, she said.
Sanders said Thursday the state was “grateful for President Trump’s support” and was “going to step up to give additional assistance to our counties and cities to help pay for some of the costs incurred during storm cleanup efforts.”
But her plan appears to require both the state and local governments to pay for recovery efforts normally picked up by the federal government.
Since federal public assistance typically covers 75% to 100% of the cost of public assistance, that means cities and counties are usually responsible for 0% to 25% of cleanup and repairs. Under Sanders’ plan, they’ll be on the hook for 65% from the March storms. That financial burden could be substantial, particularly for small counties.
Sharp, Randolph and Izard counties may see the largest hits to local budgets. The three counties will each miss out on over $1 million from March storm damage, assuming the feds would have covered the whole cost of the cleanup. Each county has fewer than 17,000 residents.
Uncertainty over the federal government’s role in disaster recovery appears to be part of the new normal for states, cities and counties. Trump has said he is considering eliminating FEMA, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency includes FEMA, said she would like to reimagine and rename the disaster relief agency.
Trump fired acting FEMA director Cam Hamilton last month after Hamilton told a congressional panel that FEMA should not be eliminated. Hamilton’s replacement atop FEMA, Harding University grad David Richardson, held a conference call with FEMA employees in which he stressed his intentions to revamp the organization and suggested pushing more disaster recovery costs to the states. A spokesman for the National Security Council told news outlet Stateline that states must have “an appetite to own the problem.”
A statement from Sanders on Friday suggested she’s on board with FEMA reducing its role in disaster recovery:
“I have had continued conversations with the Trump Administration and Secretary Noem about their plans to reform FEMA and look forward to working with them to save money and get assistance directly in the hands of disaster victims.”
