Sarah Sanders begs her old boss Trump to reconsider after president rejects Arkansas’ request for disaster relief funds

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has begged President Donald Trump to reconsider his rejection of her petition for catastrophe alleviation funds aft tornadoes devastated her authorities past month.

The erstwhile Trump White House property caput wrote to Trump successful March aft storms ravaged the state, sidesplitting 3 people.

Sanders, who often sparred with journalists successful the property country arsenic White House Press Secretary during Trump’s archetypal administration, declared a authorities of exigency and asked her erstwhile brag to state a large catastrophe truthful the authorities could unafraid a national handout.

But the Trump medication rejected the petition and said the harm could beryllium handled by the state.

In an entreaty to Trump, her erstwhile boss, Sanders and the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management wrote again connected April 18 and pleaded with the president that Arkansas is “in dire request of national assistance.”

“The terrible storms and tornadoes that occurred connected March 14 and 15, 2025, produced catastrophic impacts crossed the state. The sheer magnitude of this lawsuit resulted successful overwhelming amounts of debris, wide demolition to homes and businesses, the tragic nonaccomplishment of 3 lives, and injuries to galore others,” Sanders said successful the letter, the Arkansas Times reports.

She described however a 2nd question of terrible upwind deed Arkansas little than 3 weeks later.

“Given the cumulative interaction of these events, national assistance is indispensable to assistance our communities recover,” Sanders said.

The plea for assistance marks a important departure from statements Sanders made successful 2023.

“As agelong arsenic I americium your governor, the meddling manus of large authorities creeping down from Washington DC volition beryllium stopped acold astatine the Mississippi River,” she wrote successful a station connected X successful January 2023.

Still, the Biden medication swiftly allocated national funds to enactment Arkansas erstwhile storms that aforesaid period killed 5 people.

During the gubernatorial race, Sanders campaigned for the “right to beryllium escaped of socialism and tyranny.”

Trump has floated abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which responds to each kinds of earthy disasters and different emergencies crossed the nation, and permission the task of responding to emergencies up to idiosyncratic authorities governments. Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk person been looking for ways to slash the national fund by reducing programs and staffing.

“You cognize what? If they get deed with a tornado oregon something, fto Oklahoma hole it ... and past the national authorities tin assistance them retired with the money,” Trump said successful January. “FEMA is getting successful the mode of everything. And the Democrats really usage FEMA not to assistance North Carolina. It makes nary sense.”

Before she asked Trump for a handout, Sanders backed Musk’s cost-cutting efforts and said her authorities was doing the same.

“What @elonmusk is doing with DOGE is simply a crippled changer,” Sanders said successful a station connected the billionaire’s X level astatine the extremity of February. “Arkansas did the aforesaid happening and uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars successful discarded and inefficiencies and I cognize @DOGE is going to find adjacent more.”