Trump Is Politicizing Disaster Aid
Last Updated: 8/11/26
Trump has politicized extreme weather disasters, repeatedly denying or delaying federal aid to communities facing disasters, hurting recovery efforts, and delaying critical assistance to impacted communities. Statistically, states that Harris won in 2024 were far less likely to have aid requests approved than states that Trump won. Former Trump administration officials have alleged that Trump treated disaster aid as a “pot of cash for him to dole out as he saw fit,” dependent on how he was treated personally by a state’s politicians, and claimed he sought “personal gratitude” from governors seeking disaster relief. Trump often used his announcements of disaster aid approvals to spotlight Republican allies and endorsed candidates in affected states.
Trump Politicized Disaster Aid, Making It Harder For States He Felt Did Not Favor Him To Access Federal Support
- As of March 2026, it was three times harder for Democratic-led states to be approved for federal disaster aid.
- Trump approved just 23% of disaster aid requests from Democratic-led states, compared to 89% for Republican-led states.
- The denials have blocked Democratic-led states from receiving a total of $250 million in disaster aid that would have been approved by every previous administration, including Trump in his first term.
- In FEMA’s 47-year history, this was by far the highest rate of rejection for blue states. Every president since Ronald Reagan has approved at least 67% of requests from Democratic-led states.
- Trump has taken an average of 80 days to approve or deny requests from blue states, compared to 39 days for red states.
- Eight out of 10 of Trump’s denials in blue states came despite FEMA having documented significant damage after FEMA inspections. Other presidents rarely denied aid for events that caused as much damage as those eight denials.
- Only Trump himself had the power to make final major disaster declaration decisions, with presidents making declarations at their own discretion, despite federal criteria for disaster aid.
- As of May 2026, while states Trump won in 2024 saw disaster declaration approval rates on par with past administrations, states that went for Harris had requests rejected at more than twice the usual rate.
- As of July 2026, Trump approved more than three-fourths of major disaster declaration requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election but less than half of requests from states that did not.
- Trump repeatedly posted on social media that he was eager to approve requests from states that voted for him.
- In July 2026, two days after Trump announced more than $846 million in disaster aid to states that voted for him in 2024, he denied $227 million in aid requests from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
- All four states had exceeded FEMA’s damage threshold, but FEMA dismissed the major blizzard and ensuing damages as “routine or expected weather effects.” The historic storm had the magnitude of a Category 2 hurricane, and the denials were widely lambasted by state leaders as political.
- Many of the disaster declarations Trump approved involved less-damaging events than the four Northeastern states’ requests he rejected.
- In August 2026, the governors of all four states appealed the denials, emphasizing that both FEMA and NOAA had determined that they met government thresholds for receiving aid.
- FEMA-validated damage assessment reports found more than $19 million in damages in Rhode Island, which was nine times higher than its $2.1 million cost threshold.
- Trump frequently paired his announcements of approved disaster aid funding with posts extolling the political virtues of Republican politicians and candidates in states receiving aid.
- In posts announcing disaster aid, Trump thanked Republican politicians while disregarding Democratic ones in the same states – including governors who filed the requests – entirely. He especially highlighted politicians he endorsed for re-election or for other offices.
Trump Doled Out Disaster Aid Based On How He Felt He Was Personally Treated By A State And Its Officials
- 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.
- Former administration officials alleged that Trump wanted “gracious requests” from governors in order for them to receive federal disaster aid. They said Trump made clear he wanted to receive “personal gratitude” from governors throughout his presidency.
- During Trump’s first term, California Gov. Newsom alleged that Trump expected personal treatment before aid was sent after natural disasters.
California
- In November 2018, Trump threatened to withhold wildfire funding for California’s wildfires unless the state got “their act together” to improve forest management. A former Trump official alleged that Trump tried to withhold disaster relief funding for political reasons.
- California’s 2018 Wildfire season was the deadliest on record in its modern history, with 7,948 fires causing 100 deaths and an estimated $148.5 billion in damages.
- Governor Brown requested a major disaster declaration to assist with the “enormous amount of public infrastructure damage” that Brown said far surpassed the state’s threshold and necessitated supplementary federal assistance.
- Trump tweeted that he ordered FEMA to halt disaster funding for California “unless they get their act together.”
- Trump tweeted that he would withhold federal aid from California “because of gross mismanagement of the forests.”
- Later reporting revealed that Trump initially withheld wildfire relief due to California being a blue state, and only changed his mind after being shown voter maps demonstrating that heavily damaged Orange County had significant numbers of Trump supporters.
- In 2020, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Trump tried to withhold disaster relief money for California’s wildfires due to the state’s political leanings.
- In November 2019, following the Kincade Fire, Trump once again threatened to cut off federal funding for the state.
- In 2019, 7,148 fires caused an estimated $80 billion in damage and three deaths in California.
- As communities looked to rebuild from the fires, Trump attacked California Governor Newsom as having “done a terrible job of forest management.” Trump admonished Newsom, tweeting, “as the fire’s rage & California burns… he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor.”
- In October 2020, Trump rejected California’s request for a major disaster declaration for wildfire recovery after the state experienced major wildfires, including its largest single inferno in state history (the Creek Fire), which burned an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.
- In September, Governor Newsom wrote to the Trump administration requesting disaster aid from the federal government. In the letter, Newsom said that estimated infrastructure damage alone exceeded $229 million.
- The White House said California’s request for a presidential major disaster declaration, which would have freed up millions in federal funding, was rejected because it was “not supported by the relevant data.”
- A day later, after a “direct appeal” from Governor Newsom on the phone, Trump reversed his decision and approved the declaration.
- The Trump administration awarded just $103 million in federal disaster assistance to California, significantly less than the $346 million Newsom estimated would be needed to rebuild from the six major fires.
- California’s 2020 wildfires had the lowest eligibility rate for FEMA aid of any U.S. wildfire disaster, with just 5 percent of aid applicants receiving financial assistance.
- Newsom told Politico that Trump was “very threatening” towards him in 2020 over disaster aid. Newsom said that Trump had told him, “You better work with me now, because I’m going to get reelected, and you’re going down on this.”
- Even on the 2024 campaign trail, Trump doubled down on his threats to withhold wildfire disaster money for the state if he won in November.
- Politico reported: “Gavin Newscum [Newsom] is going to sign those papers,” Trump said, seemingly referencing a 2020 federal decision to increase water deliveries by weakening endangered species rules that Newsom sued over. “If he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires, and if we don’t give him the money to put out his fires, he’s got problems.”
- Trump’s remarks came as the state was battling several large fires that burned more than 100,000 acres combined and displaced thousands.
- After the early January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, Trump and Republican congressional leaders threatened to attach conditions to federal disaster aid, including changes in California’s water policies and forest management. Trump also said he wanted to attach a condition that would require voter ID requirements in California.
- Trump said he would consider withholding aid until California adjusted its water resource management, saying, “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down.”
- Trump signed an executive order to override federal and state laws dealing with California’s water system to combat wildfires. The order threatened to cut off federal funding to the state.
- FEMA slowed the distribution of grants intended to help states prepare for and prevent wildfires, targeting fire-prone blue states including California.
- California was waiting on $1.68 billion in Hazard Mitigation Grant funding, after receiving just $830,000 between July 2025 and April 2026.
- Trump officials concluded that they did not want to give additional grants to states including California because they felt the states were not spending grant money quickly enough.
Michigan
- After two dams broke in Michigan in 2020, leading to devastating flooding, Trump threatened to withhold aid if state officials proceeded with a plan to mail absentee ballot applications to voters.
- The flooding forced 10,000 people to evacuate and damaged an estimated 2,500 properties.
- The flooding swept through a chemical plant and hazardous waste sites, leading to fears of contamination.
- The flooding submerged downtown Midland, a city of 40,000 people, under 9 feet of water.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to Trump on June 15, 2020, estimating the state would need $55 million for immediate infrastructure repairs. Private losses were pegged at over $190 million in private losses.
- Trump did not approve a major disaster declaration until July 9, 2020, which provided only $43 million in aid.
- The Trump administration withheld FEMA funding for utility repairs in northern Michigan after a March 2025 ice storm caused widespread power outages and severely damaged utility infrastructure. Trump only authorized that category of aid in March 2026 – a year after the storm – once Whitmer personally appealed to Trump at the White House, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers asked Trump for disaster aid, and House Republicans in Lansing had pressured him to secure additional relief.
- In October 2025, FEMA told Whitmer that aid for repairing the nonprofit utilities “is not warranted,” despite the agency’s own assessment that “damage to utilities” was the “primary impact” of the storm and responsible for $90 million of the $137 million in damages from the ice storm.
- The partial approval excluding utility repair was the first known time a president had not authorized all five categories of a disaster request.
- In August 2025, Whitmer warned Trump that without federal aid, ratepayers of the affected rural electric cooperatives would face surcharges and rate hikes “equivalent to at least $4,500 per household.”
- Trump credited “hearing from our GREAT Republican Candidate for the United States Senate, Mike Rogers” in addition to Whitmer for convincing him to approve utility aid, and said, “Michigan is a state that I love and won BIG, and it is my honor to help the wonderful people there.”
- In October 2025, FEMA told Whitmer that aid for repairing the nonprofit utilities “is not warranted,” despite the agency’s own assessment that “damage to utilities” was the “primary impact” of the storm and responsible for $90 million of the $137 million in damages from the ice storm.
- In May 2026, the Trump administration denied Michigan’s request for Individual Assistance Funding and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds for the deadly tornadoes that hit the state in March 2026.
North Carolina
- In 2019, the Trump administration diverted FEMA funding to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to increase immigration enforcement, less than a week after Hurricane Dorian approached North Carolina’s coast.
- Trump diverted $155 million from FEMA’s operating budget to fund operations to return migrants to Mexico.
- North Carolina suffered extensive damage from storm surge flooding and tornadoes.
- North Carolina Governor Cooper requested a major disaster declaration following Hurricane Dorian, which damaged over 1,000 homes and left thousands without power.
- In 2017, Governor Cooper railed against the Trump administration and Congress after Hurricane Matthew ravaged the state, and the federal government allocated just $6.1 million in disaster relief.
- 99% of the $929 million requested by North Carolina for Hurricane Matthew was denied by the Trump administration.
- In 2025, while North Carolina was still cleaning up after Hurricane Helene, Trump denied North Carolina’s request for full reimbursement.
Washington
- In 2020, Trump reportedly withheld federal relief to Washington following wildfires due to his dislike of Democratic Governor Inslee, even after pleas from GOP Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. The relief was only granted in February 2021, shortly after President Biden took office.
- According to an aide for Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, after wildfires ripped through Eastern Washington in 2020, Trump withheld federal aid to the area because of personal animosity towards Governor Inslee.
- McMorris Rodgers was forced to speak directly to Trump and wrote a letter to him urging the approval of disaster relief despite his feud with Gov. Inslee. She wrote, “People in my district need support, and I implore you to move forward in providing it to those who have been impacted by devastating wildfires in our region.”
- Pine Creek community residents were stuck after a lack of response from the Trump administration and were unable to apply for other types of aid, such as SBA loans.
- In September 2020, Governor Inslee requested a disaster declaration following the Babb Road Fire, which caused the destruction of at least 67 homes and burned 228 structures.
- More than 15,000 acres were burned and more than 85% of the buildings in Malden and Pine City were burned to the ground.
- Trump refused to approve a routine disaster declaration request for more than four months before he left office.
- Malden’s Mayor said that Trump’s inaction “slowed down the start” of recovery and “made things stressful” because federal aid was uncertain.
- Five months after Gov. Inslee requested relief, President Biden approved federal aid for Malden, Pine City, and other areas in Eastern Washington that burned in late 2020. McMorris Rodgers applauded the approval, calling it “long overdue.” The time span was the longest it had ever taken a president to approve a disaster request.
- In 2025, Trump denied Washington disaster relief after the state was hit by a bomb cyclone storm system.
- In 2026, FEMA denied Washington its requested Hazard Mitigation Grant after December 2025 flooding, despite having approved other federal assistance for the same disaster.
- Liberal states including Washington were unable to access U.S. Forest Service wildfire grants and projects, due to the USDA’s new terms and conditions on contracts signed between the states and federal agencies.
- Washington state was unable to issue the latest round of Community Wildfire Defense Grants, which 10 communities across the state were set to receive.
- USDA’s terms and conditions required states to affirm the Trump administration’s views on DEI, transgender athletes, and immigration, which some states were barred from doing because they clashed with state law.
- The Trump administration withheld $15 million in USFS wildfire prevention funds for the Spokane area over the USDA’s political riders; in August 2026, wildfires in that area forced 65,000 residents to evacuate.
Puerto Rico
- After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Trump said he believed the island received too much aid.
- Trump delayed over $20 billion in aid for the territory as thousands died and the island went without power for 11 months.
- Trump told his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney that he did not want a single dollar going to Puerto Rico, and that the aid should instead go to Texas and Florida.
- In January 2019, Trump threatened to veto a disaster-aid measure that would have FEMA pay 100 percent of all disaster costs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria.
- The threat came just two months after Trump signed an order directing FEMA to cover 100 percent of most disaster costs in Florida. Thanks to Trump’s order, the federal government paid out some $350 million more than it would have otherwise.
- Years later, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Trump released $13 billion in assistance for the territory.
- A 2021 probe from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General found that Trump administration officials delayed Puerto Rico from receiving hurricane aid. Specifically, the report found that the White House delayed the release of $8.3 billion in HUD disaster aid for Puerto Rico, which Congress approved in February 2018.
- The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General watchdog found that officials also hampered an investigation into delays in aid delivery.
Georgia
- Tropical Storm Zeta crossed into Georgia on October 29, 2020, bringing wind gusts over 60 mph and up to 4 inches of rain. The storm downed trees and power lines across the state, killing three people. Over 1 million Georgians went without electricity due to the storm.
- A month into Trump’s second term, Trump denied Gov. Brian Kemp’s request to give local governments more time to apply for aid following Hurricane Helene.
- Hurricane Helene was responsible for at least 219 deaths and almost $80 billion in damages. The storm caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage to Georgia’s agriculture and forestry industries.
Utah
- After damaging windstorms hit Utah, Trump took 97 days to approve a disaster request from Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, even though a FEMA report showed that Utah suffered twice as much damage as needed to qualify for federal disaster aid.
- The windstorms resulted in the death of one person, leveled thousands of trees, and left 170,000 Utah homes and businesses without power.
- Gov. Herbert was one of the first Republican officials to recognize Biden as the winner of the 2020 election and denounced Utah’s Attorney General’s decision to join a lawsuit challenging the election results.
Maryland
- In August 2020, Tropical Storm Isaias moved across Maryland with strong winds, heavy rainfall, and tornadoes. The storm killed one person due to a fallen tree and caused $22 million in damage in the state.
- In July 2025, Trump rejected Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s request for $15.8 million in disaster relief following severe flash flooding in Western Maryland, which damaged more than 200 homes and affected businesses, roads, and utilities.
- A day before denying Maryland’s request, Trump said he approved West Virginia’s request as well as Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan, all of which voted for him in 2024.
- Gov. Moore called Trump’s denial “petty and partisan,” noting Maryland not only met but exceeded the criteria for federal assistance.
- Gov. Moore said, “I thought this decision was petty, that it was partisan, and that there was no basis for it. It is unprecedented for a governor of Maryland to be able to put in for emergency disaster federal relief, especially when we not just hit the criteria, we exceed the criteria, and knowing that the only states that received any federal support whatsoever were states that voted for Donald Trump.”
- Gov. Moore said, “To add insult, you mentioned it earlier, the day before they denied Maryland, they actually accepted and gave West Virginia over $10 million dollars in support for a storm that had about the same amount of damage that ended up hitting Allegheny and Garrett counties. This is petty, it is partisan, and it is punishing. And it is punishing people who deserve better from the federal government.”
- Gov. Moore said, “The Trump administration has looked that area, in the state of Maryland in the face and said, ‘you are on your own.’”
- Gov. Moore said that the Trump administration did not react to his complaints, “Well, the reaction was no reaction because we have not seen any new details or anything else that’s going to help support the people of Allegheny and Garrett counties.”
- Local Republican officials criticized the denial and highlighted that the area hit voted overwhelmingly for Trump:
- Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton: “Even though Maryland is a Democratic state, up here they’re not. They voted red. And I think that’s where the frustration for the residents is, […] Now they feel like the president has turned his back on them.”
- Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton: “I’m a republican, you know, the area that was hit hard, we’re a red part of the state; they supported Trump. And I think that’s where a lot of people are feeling angry that he’s turned their back on a part of the state that was very supportive of him in the election. […] I think folks are going to lose hope.”
- Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton said, “We met the criteria […] So, we’re confused, and we don’t understand why we were not given the FEMA assistance. […] It was a big blow in our face.”
- Lonaconing Mayor Jack Coburn: “This should be completely blind of what your party is, and the federal aid needs to come in and help these people. […] It’s their lives, their properties, and they’ll never be recovered without this funding.”
- Republican State Sen. Mike McKay on the aid denial: “It’s definitely a gut punch and it hurts,” and “we were hoping that the federal government would come through. It’s very, very disappointing that it hasn’t.”
Kentucky
- In April 2025, Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the Trump administration had denied individual assistance to six counties and public assistance to two counties following flooding in February 2025.
- In June 2025, Trump denied FEMA Public Assistance following an ice storm in January.
Texas
- After approving disaster aid for Texas in one day, Trump approved requests that had been waiting since the spring for Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia, as well as Oregon and New Mexico.
Arkansas
- Trump denied tornado survivors in Arkansas recovery aid, then later approved aid but failed to tell FEMA.
Wisconsin
- In February 2026, the Trump administration again denied Wisconsin’s appeal for FEMA Public Assistance following severe storms in August 2025, after initially denying it in October 2025, even though damage review reports from Wisconsin Emergency Management indicated the state would meet the federal threshold for aid.
- There was an estimated $34 million in damage to public infrastructure.
- Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called Trump’s denial “ridiculous” and warned local Wisconsin communities would be on the hook for tens of millions in damages due to the decision.
- Evers accused Trump of “using federal disaster aid—which should be helping families and communities rebuild and recover—to play politics by prioritizing states that help him electorally.”
- Evers: “As our state recovers from another bad storm, President Trump is still playing politics with federal disaster aid from April’s storms and even LAST August’s flooding, telling Wisconsin communities with millions of dollars in damages that it’s not enough for him to care to help.”
- Despite Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ close relationship with Trump, he said he was “disappointed” in the president’s denials and hoped the request would be revisited.
- Wisconsin Conservation Voters Executive Director Kerry Schuman accused Trump of denying aid because of political differences.
- Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley called Trump’s initial denial of aid “extremely” disappointing.
- In April 2026, Wisconsin was hit by at least 19 tornadoes in just one week, flooding rivers throughout the state and leading Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to activate the National Guard for response and recovery.
- Evers planned to submit a request for federal disaster relief, and asked Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for help persuading Trump to reconsider his previous denial of aid.
- The Trump administration issued denials for the August 2025 flood and hazard mitigation grant funds despite letters of bipartisan support from the state’s congressional delegation.
- Evers noted the new federal assistance request for the 2026 tornadoes and flooding would cover “many of the same communities still rebuilding” from the 2025 storms and shouldering those costs without any federal help.
- In July 2026, Trump reversed course and approved $22.6 million in assistance to some Wisconsin counties. Trump used his announcement to spotlight his relationship with Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who was running for governor.
- After Trump’s partial reversal, Evers announced plans to appeal FEMA’s denial of public assistance funds for four more counties that it claimed fell short of warranting federal help, as well as Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds that FEMA had denied for both April 2026 and August 2025 disasters.
- Evers planned to submit a request for federal disaster relief, and asked Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for help persuading Trump to reconsider his previous denial of aid.
Illinois
- In 2025, Trump rejected two aid requests from Illinois following severe flooding in July and August.
- The denials came two weeks after Trump said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson deserved to be in jail for failing to protect federal immigration agents.
- The White House highlighted Illinois’ status as a sanctuary state when asked about Trump’s denials.
- A former senior FEMA official believed Pritzker and Illinois were being penalized through the denials for standing up to the administration.
- The July flooding caused an estimated $46.2 million in damage, while the August flooding prompted Pritzker to request $190 million in support for the 187,500 people impacted by the storms.
- The damage-to-wealth ratio of 75.2 for the August storms was among the highest in the past two decades. Before Trump’s denial, no state had previously been denied aid when that ratio reached at least 12.5.
- In February 2026, Trump denied an appeal for help on the August storms. Pritzker claimed the denial of aid for the August flooding was politically motivated, adding that it spoke “volumes about the federal government’s vindictive priorities and complete disregard for American livelihoods.”
- Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications’ Matt Doughtie said that in most years, the data he produced from the two storms would have been enough to get a disaster declaration.
- The denials came two weeks after Trump said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson deserved to be in jail for failing to protect federal immigration agents.
Colorado
- In December 2025, Trump denied two requests for FEMA aid from Colorado following wildfires in August and storms and flooding in October.
- The wildfires caused $27.4 million in damage, while the flooding caused $13.8 million.
- The denials came amid Trump’s fight with Colorado over its refusal to release election denier Tina Peters from prison.
- Trump had called Colorado Gov. Jared Polis a “scumbag.”
- Polis accused Trump of playing “political games” with the impacts of wildfire and flooding on Coloradans.
- Colorado’s entire congressional delegation, including Lauren Boebert and three other Republicans, supported Polis’ appeal for aid in a joint letter appealing directly to Trump.
- Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd criticized Trump’s rejections, adding, “Western Colorado has long supported the president, and that support comes from communities now facing the real human and economic consequences of recent disasters.”
- In April 2026, Trump denied appeals for both the wildfires and flooding, the first time in 35 years that Colorado was denied federal assistance as part of a major disaster declaration.
- Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper called the refusal “callous” in a joint statement, saying, “Disasters are disasters, regardless of state lines or political parties.”
- FEMA slowed the distribution of grants intended to help states prepare for and prevent wildfires, targeting fire-prone blue states including Colorado.
- Colorado did not receive any Hazard Mitigation Grant funding between July 2025 and April 2026.
- Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse called it “unconscionable” that Trump was “playing political games with disaster relief.”
Arizona
- In 2025, Trump denied Arizona’s request for a major disaster declaration following flooding in September.
- The flooding caused an estimated $33 million in damage.
- Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called Trump’s rejection “reckless,” adding that the preliminary damage assessments far exceeded the threshold historically used to justify aid.
- In January 2026, Republican Arizona Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Juan Ciscomani, and David Schweikert called on Trump to reverse the denial of FEMA aid, and Hobbs filed an appeal.
Vermont
- Vermont, which Harris won by 32 points, waited from July 2025 until February 2026 for federal response to a series of flooding emergencies, only to hear that Trump rejected their disaster declaration request, despite exceeding federally-set flood damage thresholds.
- Eric Forand, Director of Vermont Emergency Management, said that under Trump, meeting damage thresholds for federal aid was no longer a “good indicator” of whether a state would receive assistance.
States Sued The Trump Administration Over Blocking Grants And Disaster Aid
12 States Sued DHS For Imposing Political Conditions On FEMA Emergency Management Performance Grants
- A group of 12 states sued the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA for imposing illegal and burdensome conditions on $300 million in emergency management and disaster relief grants.
- DHS attempted to coerce states to cooperate with immigration authorities as a condition for receiving FEMA grants.
- In December 2025, a district court judge blocked the Trump administration’s withholding of grant money from states for emergency management, disaster relief, and homeland security operations.
11 Cities And Counties In California And Oregon Sued FEMA And Other Federal Agencies For Imposing “Anti-DEI” Conditions On Disaster Relief Funding
- A group of 11 cities and counties in California and Oregon sued FEMA, DHS, DOJ, and DOI for imposing “anti-DEI” conditions on federal programs, which they argued violated Congress’s power to control federal spending.
- The conditions, which were unrelated to or contradicted the allocated funding, blocked funds for disaster and fire relief, among other efforts.
- In July 2026, a federal judge granted the municipalities a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s conditions, which it agreed violated congressional spending intentions.
25 States Sued The Trump Administration For Imposing Unlawful Conditions On Federal Grants For Disaster Preparedness And Response
- In July 2026, a group of 25 Democratic attorneys general and governors sued the Trump administration for placing stipulations on FEMA and DHS grants, a “campaign of coercion” designed to force states to adopt Trump’s preferred voting and immigration policies.
- The requirements had been imposed on more than $740 million in combined funding for disaster preparedness and counterterrorism.
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the Trump administration was holding critical funding “hostage” in an attempt to “take over our elections and perpetuate baseless conspiracy theories.”
Salem, Oregon Sued FEMA And DHS Over Political Conditions On Disaster Relief Grants
- In July 2026, the city of Salem, Oregon, sued FEMA and DHS for unlawfully attaching unrelated political conditions on disaster relief grants.
- In the lawsuit, the city of Salem said that DHS and FEMA requirements tying disaster funding to policies on DEI, immigration, gender identity, and compliance with executive orders jeopardized the city’s access to safe drinking water.
- The city was unable to receive its allocated funding because the grant requirements were illegal under Oregon state sanctuary laws.
- Spokespeople for FEMA and DHS accused the city of attempting to block Trump’s efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants.
- In the lawsuit, the city of Salem said that DHS and FEMA requirements tying disaster funding to policies on DEI, immigration, gender identity, and compliance with executive orders jeopardized the city’s access to safe drinking water.
22 States Sued The Trump Administration For Ending Disaster Mitigation Funding
- A coalition of 22 states sued the Trump administration over its decision to end the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.
- In April 2025, FEMA announced it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which distributed funding for communities to prepare for extreme weather events.
- In December 2025, a federal judge found FEMA’s actions were unlawful and ordered the reinstatement of BRIC. In March 2026, FEMA was forced to reopen program applications following an order requiring funding to be made available.
- However, even after the court ordered the program be reinstated, states were still waiting for funds to arrive, and FEMA did not provide a timeline on their distribution.
- Once BRIC was reinstated, FEMA shortened the application timeline, required that funding only go to “shovel-ready” projects, and no longer funded hazard mitigation planning and non-financial direct technical assistance.
23 States Sued The Trump Administration For Blocking FEMA Grants And Loans For Disaster Aid And Flood Assistance
- In a court filing, a coalition of 23 states argued that the Trump administration was illegally suspending critical federal programs, including federal disaster aid and flood assistance.
- New York, New Jersey, and Vermont were instructed to stop work on federal flood protection activities related to the terms “environmental justice,” “minority,” and “diversity.”
- States, including California and Michigan, were blocked from accessing grants and loans that were already approved by FEMA for disaster protection.
- FEMA was not reimbursing Washington state for disaster recovery costs.
- New York was unable to access hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA grants.
- Despite an injunction ordering the funding resumed, Trump continued to withhold disaster relief from states through late March 2025, and his administration appealed the injunctive order. In March 2026, the First Circuit denied the administration’s request to stay the injunction, but vacated a portion of it.
- As of June 2026, the case was still active in the District of Rhode Island.
Trump Took Steps To Make It More Difficult To Access Disaster Aid
- In May 2026, Trump’s FEMA Review Council recommended raising the threshold for disasters to qualify for federal assistance and shifting more financial and administrative burden for recovery and preparedness onto states – which may not have the needed resources to support individuals impacted by extreme weather disasters.
- Previously, Trump said he would phase out FEMA and would distribute funds from the White House.
- In May 2026, Trump’s OMB drafted a rule change to subject all grants to states, cities, and nonprofits to review by political appointees, rather than peer review panels, in order to ensure alignment with Trump’s priorities. The rule would allow political appointees to terminate not only scientific grants but also any FEMA discretionary funding the administration opposed.
- Just a few days after 40 people died in storms across the Midwest, Trump signed an executive order that would shift the responsibility for disaster preparations to state and local governments.
- The Trump administration issued an order that they claimed was to block agency money from helping undocumented immigrants; however, the order caused FEMA to freeze billions of dollars in disaster grants, disrupting payments to states, local governments, and nonprofits.
- Trump’s spending freeze shut down the FEMA disbursement portal.
- Trump stopped approving new allocations from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation and Grant Program after acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton suggested that Trump shouldn’t automatically approve hazard mitigation requests when declaring a disaster.
- FEMA was expected to end door-to-door canvassing efforts that provided aid to survivors in disaster areas.
- Former DHS Secretary Noem ordered that she must review every DHS contract and grant over $100,000, which caused delays in delivering aid around the country, from St. Louis, to Texas, and even North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
- Noem’s requirement that she personally approve all expenditures over $100,000 created a $17 billion bottleneck at FEMA that deprived states of critical funding for disaster mitigation and response.
- Following catastrophic flooding in Texas, part of FEMA’s response was delayed due to Noem’s requirement.
- In April 2026, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin reversed Noem’s approval policy, which had held up 1,034 contracts, grants, or disaster assistance awards.
- As of early February 2026, pending FEMA disaster applications were sitting longer on average than at any other point in the previous 37 years.
- Trump’s OMB proposed a rule to give political appointees the final say over FEMA discretionary funding, based on whether grant projects and applicants matched “the President’s policy priorities.”