REMINDER: Trump Has Consistently Politicized Disaster Aid

Washington, DC – In a hearing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Democratic Senators questioned Trump’s nominee for FEMA Administrator, Cameron Hamilton, about the administration’s history of politicizing disaster relief. When asked what Hamilton would do if Trump directed him to deny aid to Democratic-led states, Hamilton said: “That’s a very odd hypothetical. I don’t believe the President would do that.” The facts tell a different story. 

FACT: Trump has consistently politicized disaster aid. 

• 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. 

FACT: Trump has taken longer to approve or deny federal disaster aid than previous administrations, especially for states that did not vote for him.

• Trump has taken an average of 63 days to make decisions about Democratic states’ disaster assistance requests.

FACT: 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.

FACT: 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.

FACT: After the Los Angeles wildfires in 2025, Trump and Republican congressional leaders threatened to attach conditions to federal disaster aid to California.

FACT: Trump politicized aid during his first term as well.

• Former administration officials claimed Trump treated disaster funding as a “pot of cash for him to dole out as he saw fit,” often dependent on how he was treated personally by politicians in the state.
• In 2020, Trump reportedly withheld federal relief to Washington following wildfires due to his dislike of Democratic Governor Jay Inslee.