BRIEF: Trump favored Texas over Puerto Rico in storm recovery, FEMA report finds

March 28--The Trump administration responded more aggressively to Texas than to Puerto Rico after debilitating hurricanes slammed both, according to a report.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency kept top official Mike Byrne in Houston for three weeks after Maria hit Puerto Rico in mid-September, Politico reported Tuesday. And in the first nine days after the storms, FEMA signed off on $141.8 million in individual assistance for Harvey victims in Texas, compared with $6.2 million for Maria's.

Over that same period, FEMA supplied 5.1 million meals, 4.5 million liters of water and more than 20,000 tarps to people in Houston. The agency provided 1.6 million meals, 2.8 million liters of water and about 5,000 tarps to Puerto Rico. The government staffers in each area was also startling -- 30,000 in the Houston area, versus 10,000 in Puerto Rico nine days after each storm.

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