UNION CITY, MI (WTVB) – President Donald Trump has reversed a federal decision and approved $32.1 million in disaster relief aid for southwest Michigan, overriding a previous rejection by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The funding comes in response to a devastating March 6 tornado outbreak that swept through Branch, Cass, and St. Joseph counties, resulting in four deaths and severe structural damage to hundreds of homes. FEMA had initially denied Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s request for Individual Assistance and Hazard Mitigation funding, leaving local communities to shoulder the recovery costs amid a strained state budget.
The presidential override follows a concentrated, bipartisan push from Michigan lawmakers, including Democratic Senators Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, alongside Republican Representatives Tim Walberg and Bill Huizenga, who backed Whitmer’s official appeal by arguing that the state’s recovery resources were entirely overburdened by consecutive severe weather events.
President Trump announced the policy reversal on social media late Tuesday night, noting that he had personally called Governor Whitmer to deliver the news of the approved funding, which will now provide critical financial grants for temporary housing, home repairs, and long-term community safety projects.
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