Trump Overruled His Own Agencies To Deny Disaster Aid to Blue States

Trump overruled his own agencies’ recommendations to deny aid to four Democratic-led states

Washington, DC – New reporting from POLITICO found that Trump overruled recommendations from regional NOAA and FEMA offices in order to reject disaster aid requests from four Democratic-led states following record-breaking snowstorms. Trump rejected the requests from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, just two days after approving aid for six Republican-led states. Since Trump took office, he has gutted our disaster response capabilities and has consistently politicized and denied aid. 

“Trump is cutting off funding for snow response and politicizing disaster declarations, setting a repulsive, dangerous, and corrosive precedent,” said Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) “The February blizzard left a massive impact on Massachusetts communities, and I will be fighting alongside Governor Healey to challenge this unjust denial. Congress should also work toward establishing guardrails to make sure that all communities—in red or blue states—get the help they deserve.”

“Trump’s playbook has been clear from the beginning: gut disaster funding, abandon communities to bear the cost of recovery on their own, and along the way, punish the states who didn’t vote for him,” said Climate Power Senior Advisor Mia Logan. “Now we know he’s willing to go so far as to overrule his own agencies to do it. But the truth is: When Trump withholds disaster relief from ‘blue states,’ it’s not Democratic Governors or Senators who pay the price — it’s the seniors who can’t get medical care because the roads are blocked and families who are stuck with exorbitant rebuilding costs. Trump’s pettiness is playing with people’s lives, and American families deserve better from their President.” 

Trump has consistently politicized disaster aid: 

• Last week, a coalition of more than 25 states sued FEMA and DHS, accusing Trump of imposing “unlawful” conditions for disaster preparedness and response.
• As of March 2026, it was three times harder for Democratic-led states to get Trump’s approval for federal disaster aid. Trump approved just 23% of disaster aid requests from Democratic-led states, compared to 89% for Republican-led states.
• Trump has taken longer to approve or deny federal disaster aid than previous administrations, especially for states where a majority did not vote for him.
• Trump has taken an average of 63 days to make decisions about Democratic states’ disaster assistance requests, but fewer than 40 days for Republican states’ requests.
• Under Trump, pending FEMA disaster applications have sat longer on average than at any other point in the previous 37 years.
• In the first year of his second term, Trump denied and delayed disaster aid for 18 states: Oregon, Maryland, Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Washington, Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, Vermont, Alaska, and Wisconsin.
• Trump has cut key FEMA staff, delaying the distribution of critical disaster funding. 
• In 2025, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security drafted plans to cut FEMA’s workforce by more than 50%, which would have resulted in the loss of more than 11,500 jobs.
• After the Los Angeles wildfires in 2025, Trump and Republican congressional leaders threatened to attach conditions to federal disaster aid to California.