Trump Fast-tracks Florida Disaster Aid Days Before Tight Elections

President Donald Trump approved disaster aid Thursday afternoon for Florida residents hit by a recent hurricane, acting in near-record speed for his administration, days before two tight statewide elections.

Trump’s action makes households in eight counties eligible for thousands of dollars of aid to pay for emergency costs following Hurricane Isaias, which hit the Florida Panhandle Oct. 9. It comes two days after Trump approved $237 million in disaster aid for 15 counties to clean up and rebuild from Isaias.

Trump approved disaster aid for the Florida Panhandle faster than he has approved all but four other requests in his current term that weren’t officially expedited, a POLITICO review of federal records shows.

Meanwhile, Trump has yet to act on six other disaster requests he received before GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought help after Hurricane Isaias hit northwest Florida. Three of the older requests are from tribal nations, which rely heavily on federal help after disasters.

The White House did not answer POLITICO’s questions about the timing of Trump’s Florida approval, and said in a statement, “There is no politicization to the President’s decisions on disaster relief.”

The response to the Category 2 hurricane has become an issue in the tight race for Florida governor as both candidates target support in the Republican Panhandle, where it hit.

Trump’s approval of residential aid Thursday will help thousands of Floridians pay for emergency costs such as hotel rooms, supplies and minor home repairs. Households typically get roughly $4,000.

That followed Trump’s Tuesday approval of disaster aid for 15 Florida counties that will pay most costs of cleaning up and rebuilding from Hurricane Isaias.

Presidents occasionally approve residential aid and reconstruction aid separately.

The approval Tuesday came the day after Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly blamed Trump for a slow hurricane response while Republican candidate Rep. Byron Donalds vowed to get aid “expeditiously.” Both were campaigning in the Panhandle.

Republican candidates in Florida immediately hailed Trump’s first approval, issuing statements the evening before the administration publicly announced the aid approval.

“I’ve been working closely with the White House to get this done,” Donalds wrote on X .

“Byron has been working closely with the President to deliver this relief for Floridians impacted by Hurricane Isaias,” Donalds campaign spokesperson Gates McGavick said in a statement Thursday.

Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody issued a news release — misspelling the hurricane name — that said Trump “answered Senator Ashley Moody’s call for a Major Emergency Disaster Declaration in Florida following Hurricane Isaiah.”

Trump’s actions renewed Democratic criticism that the president has politicized disaster aid.

“Under Donald Trump, even disaster relief comes with a political loyalty test,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said, recalling Trump’s recent denial of disaster aid to New Jersey and three other Democratic-led states. “Meanwhile, Florida gets a disaster declaration just days before an election.”

House Homeland Security ranking member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said it’s “very suspicious” that Trump approved Florida aid “while other States that requested support weeks and months earlier are still left waiting.” He vowed to investigate “next year when we are in the majority.”

Jolly said: “People are hurting, and I’m just glad he did it."

Four weeks ago, POLITICO reported, Trump approved disaster aid for Ohio the day before campaigning in the state — and before he took action on five other requests made before Ohio’s.

Trump announced his action on emergency aid for Wisconsin on social media — without informing Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), who requested the aid, and while praising Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate to replace Evers.

Presidents have exclusive authority to approve or deny disaster aid requests.

Trump has slowed disaster aid in his second term, taking an average of 50 days to approve or deny requests from states, territories or tribes — exactly twice as long as he took on average in his first presidency, POLITICO found.

Trump approved DeSantis’ request for rebuilding aid in 12 days.

Campaigning Monday in the Panhandle area damaged by Hurricane Isaias, both gubernatorial candidates addressed the Trump administration’s response and local complaint.

“The buck stops with the president,” Jolly told reporters. “The president makes appointments and administers agencies, and, yes, we know who’s in charge. And when FEMA is not administering the services as quickly as it should be, that’s the responsibility of the president.”

Donalds told reporters, “We’ve already been in touch with the administration about this, making sure that the [disaster] declaration gets signed expeditiously.”

Asked about a holdup in federal aid, Donald said, “Some of it’s a little bureaucratic in FEMA.”

The heavily Republican Panhandle has become a crucial battleground in the governor’s race as Jolly tries to minimize his disadvantage. “Where we have lost in the past, we've got to lose by less,” Jolly said while campaigning in the area Monday.

Trump’s approval broke his pattern of acting on disaster requests in batches, approving or denying as many 14 in a single day after taking no action for a month or two.

Arek Sarkissian contributed to this report.