The Trump Administration rejected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s (D-Minn.) request for federal funding to repair the damage done to the city of Minneapolis by the race riots in May and June, as reported by the Star Tribune.
Walz had requested that President Trump declare a “major disaster” for the Twin Cities area, so that FEMA and other federal resources could be allowed to take part in the rebuilding process, including funding. If the request for federal funding had been approved, it mostly would have gone to local governments to cover their efforts at cleaning up and removing debris.
In the first week of riots following the death of George Floyd, Minneapolis was the epicenter of racial violence as businesses were looted and buildings were burned to the ground. Although President Trump eventually sent in the National Guard on Walz’s request and largely restored peace within a week, the damage was calculated to be as high as $500 million.
U.S. Representative Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) sent a letter to President Trump asking for a “thorough and concurrent review” of the state and local government’s initial response to the riots, saying that if the federal government were ever to provide funding to Minnesota, it would have “an obligation to every American…to fully understand the events which allowed for this level of destruction to occur and ensure it never happens again.”