ICYMI: New Analysis Reveals Trump Is Denying Disaster Aid to Democratic States at the Highest Rate in FEMA History

Trump has approved just 23% of disaster requests from fully Democratic-led states — compared to 89% for fully Republican-led states — blocking $250 million in aid

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A sweeping new investigation by POLITICO's E&E News — reviewing more than 2,500 natural disaster declarations — found that President Trump is rejecting disaster aid requests from Democratic-led states at the highest rate in FEMA's 47-year history. The findings raise serious concerns that disaster relief is being distributed based on partisan politics rather than need, leaving communities without critical recovery funds.

"We knew Trump was playing politics with disaster relief, but now we have the receipts: a 23 percent approval rate for Democratic states, $250 million in blocked aid, and communities hit hard enough that FEMA's own inspectors documented the damage — all left behind because of who their governor is,” said Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member and former FEMA Director of Public Affairs Rafael Lemaitre. “This isn't just unconscionable. It's a betrayal of every American who's ever needed help after a disaster."

Read key excerpts from the investigation below. 

POLITICO: It's 3 Times Harder For Blue States To Get Disaster Funding Under Trump

The denials have blocked Democratic-led states from getting a total of $250 million in disaster aid that would have been approved by every previous president including Trump in his first term, E&E News found.

Trump rejected most of the requests even after FEMA had documented that the damage met its financial threshold to warrant receiving federal aid.

“Never in my lifetime has a president treated disaster relief as a political cudgel,” Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said after seeing E&E News’ analysis. “What President Trump has done to politicize disaster relief and hold up support for Americans who need it — including my constituents in Washington state — is frankly unforgivable.”

Trump’s recent disaster declarations contrast sharply with his first term, when he approved 93 percent of requests from Democratic-led states — compared to 89 percent from states controlled by Republicans.

Political considerations had “zero” effect on disaster decisions in his first term, said Peter Gaynor, who ran the agency from 2019 to 2021.

“From the administration, the secretary, the president — zero,” Gaynor said about political influence on decisions. [...]

Here are the findings:

Trump’s 23 percent approval rate of Democratic requests is unprecedented. Every president since Reagan has approved at least 67 percent of requests from Democratic-led states. Republican Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump in his first term each approved a higher percentage of requests from Democratic states than from Republican states.

Trump has taken 80 days on average to approve or deny requests from Democratic-led states — compared to 39 days for Republican-led states.

Trump has been openly partisan on social media about using disaster funding for political purposes. He has linked his decisions to grant aid with his electoral victories in Republican-led states.

Eight out of Trump’s 10 denials for Democratic-led states came despite FEMA having documented high levels of damage after on-the-ground inspections. Previous presidents have rarely denied disaster aid for events that caused as much damage as FEMA found for the eight denials.

Trump’s denials of Democratic-led states overwhelmingly affected counties that supported him in 2024, suggesting that Trump’s rejections were directed at state leaders who oppose him politically.