There's a hearing tomorrow with acting FEMA administrator Richardson in the House Transportation & Infrastructure committee. Worth tuning in: transportation.house.gov/calendar/eve...

We're up to 32 disasters in 2025 that have been denied or gotten no response on Hazard Mitigation requests, with New Mexico being added for the flash floods in early July www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/w...

Here's an updated view of 2025 v 2024 and how the administration is batching review of requests for disaster help. Disasters get added to the queue and just sit until there's a WH review day and a bunch get approved/denied all at once. Last year, it was an ongoing cycle of review, w/o big backlogs.

We're up to 13 open declaration requests in the FEMA Daily Brief content.govdelivery.com/attachments/...

#3 cont'd - sorry the approvals and denials are flipped on the two graphics, but this shows how TX is the exception not the rule in terms of approval speed. Looks like the White House is only doing approvals every few weeks, instead of at the steady pace from 2024.

#3 Texas got a very fast disaster declaration for the #hillcountryfloods. But most states are not getting quick turnarounds on their disaster declaration requests this year. The administration is letting requests sit, then approving them in batches. See 2025 compared to 2024:

Oops, would help if I screenshotted the whole HMGP table all the way back to Jan. Here it is.

#2 cont'd - Hazard Mitigation is post-disaster $$ for states to “rebuild in a way that reduces…future disaster losses.” It’s the funding that could have paid for sirens in Kerr County. www.fema.gov/sites/defaul...

#2 The administration hasn’t approved a single request for Hazard Mitigation since 2/17/25. 31 requests are either denied or pending.

#1 There are 10 disaster declaration requests from governors all over the country that have gone unanswered since May

Even in states with big economies – like Texas and Florida – rebuilding after a disaster without federal assistance is functionally impossible. @sarahlabo.bsky.social breaks it down: youtube.com/shorts/fTR5D...

More here: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

And Leonard Leo has another $1b for more conservative film & tv projects www.wsj.com/business/med...