President Donald Trump’s spending freeze flip-flop is wreaking havoc on the nation’s efforts to recover from major natural disasters, an already fraught and sluggish process. The Trump administration today rescinded its Monday memo that had implemented a sweeping freeze on vast swaths of federal aid, after a federal judge put a temporary block on the action Tuesday. But it’s not clear whether the revocation is actually an end to the freeze itself. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the move “is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the [Office of Management and Budget] memo.” And — much like a traffic backup that endures even after the accident is cleared (if the accident has indeed cleared?) — many agencies are still dealing with operational disruptions. On Tuesday, states lost access to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s online portal, which distributes roughly $30 billion a year for disaster cleanup and infrastructure repairs, write Thomas Frank, Anne C. Mulkern and Andres Picon. The lapse in access could delay recovery for every state hit by a major storm, wildfire or other disaster in the past decade or more, according to former FEMA Chief of Staff Michael Coen. “It’s going to slow things down when there’s already frustration with how long it takes for communities to recover,” Coen said. “It’s just one more thing they now have to deal with.” While FEMA’s aid distribution to states may be caught in Trump's crosshairs, payments to individual households affected by disasters are continuing for the time being. In the wake of Los Angeles’ devastating fires, FEMA has given nearly 24,000 households in Southern California an average of $2,150 in aid and has been approving thousands of applications every day since Trump took office, FEMA records show. But the freeze about-face may only be the start of FEMA’s recovery disruptions. The White House has ordered a broader review of all federal grant programs to ensure they align with Trump’s new agenda, which seeks to dismantle the Biden administration’s emphasis on equity, environmental justice and climate change. That could bring about a major shakeup at FEMA. Former President Joe Biden had revised FEMA’s individual assistance program to help minority households qualify. The agency expanded the list of documents that can be used to prove residency, largely to help Black people in the South who do not have deeds to inherited property because their ancestors were excluded from the legal system through slavery and Jim Crow policies, for example. FEMA also takes a harder look at rebuilding projects that may harm low-income and marginalized populations, in compliance with a 1994 executive order from former President Bill Clinton. Trump revoked the Clinton order last week.
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