The Trump administration has approved major disaster declaration requests for at least seven states, allowing affected communities to access federal support. The decisions come as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin begins his tenure overseeing the disaster relief agency. However, the ongoing DHS shutdown could undermine FEMA's ability to continue disaster response and recovery efforts. While FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund is running low due to the ongoing government shutdown, the DHS appropriations bill would replenish the fund with more than $26 billion. Some communities have experienced long waits for disaster requests during President Donald Trump's second term.