Trump declared an emergency by invoking the Stafford Act. Here's how the Stafford Act works and the powers the declaration unlocks.
The law, enacted in 1988, empowers the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist state and local governments during"natural catastrophes" and coordinate the nation's response.
Trump has invoked the Stafford Act many times during his presidency, approving major disaster declarations to address flooding in the Midwest and wildfires in California, among other events. In 2000, former President Bill Clinton used a Stafford Act emergency declaration to pay for mosquito control efforts to address outbreaks of the West Nile virus in New Jersey and New York.A different government agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, declared the coronavirus a public health emergency in late January and has been the lead agency addressing the pandemic.
Several state governments have declared emergencies, allowing them to mandate containment zones like the one in New Rochelle, New York, and address price-gouging.Last year, Trump declared an emergency on the U.S.-Mexican border to circumvent Congress and take money already designated for other programs to pay for his wall on the southern border, which he promised to build during his 2016 campaign.
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