“Screwing Over Republicans”?

UPDATE 05/15/25: After what she calls a "productive" phone call with President Trump, Governor Sanders announced that Trump has now approved federal disaster assistance for Green, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp and Stone counties after the March 14-15 storms and tornadoes (FEMA press release).

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When President Trump denied Governor Sander's request for federal disaster aid after this spring's damaging weather, the Left predictably pounced and is gleefully reporting the refusal as another one of Trump's "dictatorial" moves, saying this time that our President is "blocking disaster relief for Republicans." Snopes was just one of many outlets that couldn't resist reporting on the "rumor" that Trump refused the federal aid request, adding only the additional "fact" that the state backed Trump in the 2024 election (as did half the country); Rolling Stone launched this attack: "Trump is now screwing over Republicans."

However, in addition to the unified plea from all our Republican state and U.S. lawmakers to approve the request, conservative voters are also eyeing the decision, wondering about the state's surplus funds and whether Governor Sanders straying from the MAGA platform have anything to do with it. During the last couple of months President Trump has called out Governor Sanders publicly at least twice for her inaction on paper ballots/1-day voting, a key plank in his election security agenda.

"Beyond the State's Capabilities"?

The Governor had released $250,000 from the Governor’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund on March 15, and wrote in her 12-page March 21 federal aid request that the estimated cost of the March 14-15 severe storms and tornadoes exceeds $11.6 million with debris costs alone estimated at $3.7 million in Greene, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp and Stone counties. She declared that:

Without the support of a Major Disaster Declaration, Arkansas will face significant challenges in assuming full responsibility and achieving an effective recovery from this event. I have determined that the severity and magnitude of these storms exceed the capabilities of the State and affected local governments to respond adequately. As such, supplemental Federal assistance is crucial.

Governor Sanders also requested $25,140,730 in additional federal aid in a March 29 amended request detailing much of the damage, bringing the state's total aid request to around $40 million.

However, on April 11 the Trump Administration refused Sanders' request:

"Based on our review of all the information available, it has been determined that the damage was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies. Accordingly, we have determined that supplemental federal assistance is not necessary."

This shouldn't have been unexpected, given President Trump's March 10 executive order pushing states to take a primary role in their own disaster relief.

To date, the Administration has not reversed its decision, despite a repeated request via an April 21 group letter from all six of Arkansas' delegation in D.C.

The White House's new approach to federal disaster aid emphasizes "support on truly catastrophic disasters — massive hurricanes, devastating earthquakes, or wide-scale attacks on the homeland,” Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, has explained, adding that states need "an appetite to own the problem."

Arkansas isn't the only state to be denied FEMA disaster relief, and Sanders isn't the only Republican governor to be denied -- although we all know the Leftist media would love it if Republican Governor Sanders' request was the only one.

So far this spring Trump/FEMA have turned down Kentucky, North Carolina, and Washington state -- all governed by Democrats -- as well as West Virginia, which has a Republican Governor. Action has yet to be announced on requests from Mississippi and Missouri.

Record Budget Surpluses

On the other hand, conservative Republican voters in Arkansas are looking at Trump's decision with an eye on the scads of reserve funds denoted by the Republican-majority lawmakers and the record budget surpluses the state has racked up for at least the last three full fiscal years. (The state's FY 2025 surplus, projected at $278.6 million, actually marks the lowest surplus in the past few years.)

In October 2023, Arkansas was holding about $1.52 billion in its Catastrophic Reserve Fund, which by law can be used only for specific projects approved by the Governor and the Legislature. Meanwhile, using $710 million from FY2023 surpluses, the General Assembly also created a new reserve fund, the Arkansas Reserve Fund Set-Aside. The most current report dated a year ago in May 2024 shows the state's total Restricted Reserve Fund Balance was $2,055,000,000.

With these surplus reserve figures in mind, couldn't Arkansas well afford $40 to $50 million for very much needed storm recovery instead of requesting federal funds at a time when conservative voters, President Trump, and DOGE are laser-focused on the MAGA agenda of cutting our excessive federal spending of taxpayer dollars?

Ya just gotta ask yourself, "Is it really President Trump that's screwing over Republicans in need of relief in Arkansas?"