White House approves emergency declaration for Virgin Islands as Dorian approaches

The White House approved an emergency declaration for the U.S. Virgin Islands Wednesday as Hurricane Dorian approaches. 

President Trump ordered federal assistance to supplement response efforts to the territory, the White House said. 

The declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts to lessen or avert catastrophe in the Virgin Islands. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared a state of emergency earlier Wednesday as Dorian inched closer to the state.{mosads}

Trump had approved a state of emergency in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. 

He later renewed his ongoing feud with the territory in a series of tweets Wednesday morning calling Puerto Rico “one of the most corrupt places on earth,” and saying “I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to Puerto Rico!”

Puerto Rican officials have sparred with Trump over his handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017. 

Ahead of Hurricane Dorian the Trump administration, in a separate move, reallocated $271 million in emergency relief funds from within DHS to pay for more immigration detention beds.