U.S. Congressman Greg Stanton (D-AZ) has called on federal agencies and the White House to prepare for potential flooding in Arizona as remnants of Hurricane Priscilla are expected to bring heavy rain and flash floods through the weekend. Stanton also pressed Speaker Mike Johnson to promptly swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva.
In a letter to Speaker Johnson, Stanton wrote, “Members of Congress are an essential resource for constituents before, during and after a natural disaster. A fully operational Congressional office provides immediate assistance and up-to-date information to those in affected areas; serves as a real-time information flow for federal, state and local emergency management; and is essential in supporting recovery efforts. By blocking Representative-elect Grijalva from taking the oath of office, you are depriving more than 800,000 Arizonans of critical assistance ahead of a potentially deadly storm.”
Stanton sent several requests Thursday morning urging officials at different levels of government to prepare for the forecasted severe weather. These included a letter to President Trump requesting expedited State or Tribal disaster declarations, and another to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator David Richardson asking that supplies and personnel be prepositioned according to the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.
He also addressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and FEMA Administrator Richardson, seeking a waiver on the DHS policy that requires FEMA expenses over $100,000 be personally approved by Secretary Noem. In addition, he wrote to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs urging her to formally request this waiver if she seeks a disaster declaration.
Stanton is currently Ranking Member of the House Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee, which oversees FEMA.
Greg Stanton won re-election in both 2022 and 2024 against Kelly Cooper, with victories by 56% to 43.1% in 2022 and by 52.7% to 45.5% in 2024.
For further details see https://stanton.house.gov/2025/10/ahead-of-serious-flood-threat-in-arizona-stanton-urges-white-house-dhs-fema-to-prepare-and-demands-speaker-swear-in-rep-elect-grijalva
