The ‘Stafford Act’ invoked by Trump’s national emergency declaration is designed to stop him from doing anything ‘truly crazy’: report
As President Trump declares a national state of emergency in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak, VICE’s Greg Walters shed some light on the presidential powers that will be unleashed by the declaration.
Declaring a national emergency will unlock $40 billion in federal dollars to fight the outbreak — funds made possible by the Stafford Act, which also allows Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to take a key role in battling the crisis.
The Stafford Act has been utilized by presidents before Trump, such as Barack Obama who used it to combat an outbreak of the “swine flu” (H1N1).