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The Trump administration approved major disaster declaration requests for at least seven states this week, according to information released Saturday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency<\/a><\/span>, allowing affected communities to access federal support. About 15 requests for assistance from others states and tribes for extreme weather events this year and last seem to be pending, along with three appeals of previous denials.<\/p>\n Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota and Washington were granted major disaster declarations, which can unlock federal support and funding for recovery needs such as public infrastructure repairs and aid for survivors. <\/p>\n The announcement, in a FEMA daily briefing document, comes weeks into Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin\u2019s tenure overseeing the disaster relief agency and is the latest signal that the former Republican senator from Oklahoma could ease some of the turmoil from the leadership<\/a><\/span> of his predecessor, Kristi Noem, who was fired by President Donald Trump<\/a><\/span> in March.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, FEMA\u2019s work could be undermined by the ongoing DHS shutdown<\/a><\/span>, now eight weeks long. While disaster response and recovery can continue through a shutdown because FEMA\u2019s Disaster Relief Fund does not lapse, that money is running low as the funding impasse drags on. The DHS appropriations bill would replenish the fund with more than $26 billion.<\/p>\n Mullin said Tuesday that he planned to brief Trump that day on the pending declaration requests, affirming his intention to speed up work on past disasters in the run-up to Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to push this stuff forward as fast as possible,\u201d Mullin said after surveying Hurricane Helene recovery work in North Carolina<\/a><\/span> on his first official visit as DHS secretary, acknowledging that \u201cdisasters are happening constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Saturday that Trump responds to such requests \u201cwith great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement \u2014 not substitute \u2014 their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.\u201d She said an administration goal is having state and local governments \u201cinvest in their own resilience before disaster strikes, making response less urgent and recovery less prolonged.\u201d<\/p>\n While Mullin assured fellow senators during his confirmation hearing<\/a><\/span> that he believed in FEMA\u2019s mission, the agency\u2019s future is uncertain. Trump has expressed a desire to push more responsibility for disasters down to states. The FEMA Review Council he appointed last year has not released a recommendation report expected to include sweeping changes<\/a><\/span> to how the federal government supports disaster resilience, response and recovery. <\/p>\n It was not immediately clear whether other states or tribes had also been told of approvals or denials that were not yet announced publicly. Hawaii Governor Josh Green, a Democrat, said Wednesday said his state had received a disaster declaration<\/a><\/span> for devastating March flooding<\/a><\/span>. <\/p>\n Trump also amended past disaster declarations for Tennessee and Mississippi, adding more counties for individual assistance after a severe winter storm in January. <\/p>\n Some communities have experienced unprecedented long waits for answers on their disaster requests during Trump\u2019s second term. An analysis by The Associated Press in September found approvals were taking more than a month on average<\/a><\/span>. <\/p>\n It took less than two weeks on average for a governor\u2019s disaster declaration request to be granted by presidents in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties.<\/p>\n Arizona has been waiting nearly three months for an answer to its appeal after being denied support for severe storms and flooding that occurred in September.<\/p>\n