Colorado Governor Jared Polis and the state’s two senators have called on President Donald Trump to reconsider his decision Saturday night to deny requests for two separate federal disaster declarations. These declarations would have unlocked FEMA funding to support recovery efforts for the Elk and Lee wildfires and flooding in southwestern Colorado, providing critical aid to impacted residents and businesses.
This comes as leaders in Washington state say they will seek a disaster declaration for historic flooding that occurred earlier this month.
Polis stated: “Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in Southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing. One of the most amazing things to witness as governor has been the resilience of Coloradans following a natural disaster. Their courage, strength, and willingness to help one another is unmatched – values that President Trump seems to have forgotten.”
Polis added: “I call on the president’s better angels and urge him to reconsider these requests. This is about the Coloradans who need this support, and we won’t stop fighting for them to get what they deserve.”
A White House spokesperson identified as Abigail Jackson stated that the administration deployed Air National Guard aircraft in response to the Lee and Elk fires. Jackson added that President Trump evaluates disaster-aid requests carefully “under the Stafford Act with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement – not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”
