FEMA: Michigan has not requested major disaster declaration for coronavirus

Mar. 26--LANSING -- Michigan has not yet requested a major disaster declaration for the coronavirus, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday.

The administration of President Donald Trump has already declared major disasters for Texas, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, California and Washington, officials confirmed.

But for Michigan, where the number of confirmed cases topped 2,200 Wednesday, with at least 43 deaths, "FEMA has not yet received a request for a major disaster declaration," spokesman Michael Hart said.

Tiffany Brown, a spokeswoman for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said Wednesday morning that state officials were "reviewing and looking into" a request to FEMA. By Wednesday afternoon, after the Free Press published a story on the issue, Brown said officials were "working urgently" on a disaster request. She did not immediately respond to a question about why the request was not completed sooner.

Michigan ranks fifth in the nation for total number of coronavirus cases, behind New York, New Jersey, Washington and California.

Whitmer has repeatedly called on Trump to declare a national disaster in connection with the pandemic and did obtain a limited disaster designation for the purposes of accessing federal small business loans. That designation is separate from a major disaster declaration for a stand does not come through FEMA, officials said.

The governor has also criticized the federal government for acting slowly to prepare for the coronavirus, not providing needed supplies, and not providing a national strategy to deal with the pandemic.

A major disaster declaration brings increased federal funding and other forms of assistance.

"Our legal team is working urgently with the Michigan State Police to draft a comprehensive request based on our needs to the president to declare a major disaster declaration for Michigan," Brown said. "We have been disappointed to see that while the Trump administration declared major disasters for a handful of states, the declarations were not accompanied by substantial federal resources."

The Michigan Republican Party accused Whitmer, a Democrat, of not acting sooner for partisan reasons.

"We now know the shameful fact that while Gov. Whitmer has been sniping at the president as a frequent guest on national television, she has refused to take advantage of all the resources the president is offering." said Laura Cox, the party chairwoman.

"It's time for the governor to put aside her partisanship and do what's right for the people of Michigan," Cox said. "Whitmer must seek FEMA assistance immediately."

Tori Sachs, executive director of the conservative group Michigan Rising Action, said it is "unfortunate" that Whitmer "didn't know that going on cable news to blast the president won't get the state any federal disaster resources if the governor doesn't submit a request for the funds."

"This is state emergency management 101," Sachs said in a news release.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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