By K8 Newsdesk

Published: Apr. 22, 2025

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) - Arkansas lawmakers have joined Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in asking the federal government to reconsider its denial of aid for tornado recovery.

Last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected Sanders’ request for a major disaster declaration for public assistance covering damage incurred by the March 14-15 severe storms.

On Friday, April 18, Sanders sent a letter appealing the decision and requested a 30-day extension of time.

U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton, along with U.S. Representative Rick Crawford, followed with their own letter on Monday, April 21, to President Donald Trump asking that he “reconsider the denial.”

“As Governor Sanders noted in her request, these storms caused catastrophic damage across the state, resulting in disastrous amounts of debris, widespread destruction to homes and businesses, the deaths of three Arkansans, and injuries to many more,” the three lawmakers stated.

The letter noted that preliminary damage assessments for the affected counties—which include Baxter, Clay, Greene, Independence, Jackson, Randolph, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff—total nearly $8.8 million.

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