The department did not provide a specific time frame for when the money would be distributed, but officials said that the states would soon be able to apply for it, but that stricter oversight and financial controls are still being developed for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

“Recovery efforts in jurisdictions prepared to do their part should not be held back due to alleged corruption, fiscal irregularities and financial mismanagement occurring in Puerto Rico and capacity issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Mr. Carson said in a statement.

The housing agency also announced on Friday that it would appoint a federal financial monitor to oversee the disbursement of disaster relief money in Puerto Rico and to “ensure recovery funds get to the people who need them most and protect taxpayers who are footing the bill.”

The action comes a week after Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico resigned following a series of protests that demonstrated widespread frustration with government corruption, the economy and a poor response to Hurricane Maria in 2017.

[Read more about the governor’s resignation.]

On a phone call with reporters, housing department officials said they would issue rules in the coming weeks that would allow the states to apply for the money, but they could not say when similar rules for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands would be released.