Photo by Anurag Jamwal
“I can’t think of a time a declaration was denied” for a state that met FEMA and NOAA standards, says a former FEMA official. The former official was granted anonymity to speak about Trump’s recent decision to override his own agencies to deny four Democratic states requesting disaster relief.
Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York were all denied their requests for federal disaster relief. The paralyzing February “Blizzard of 2026” dumped record snowfall across the East Coast- breaking historical records (e.g. 37.9 inches in 24 hours on Rhode Island). This led to those states’ unprecedented snow removal costs- aid requests for $227 million altogether.
Presidents do retain sole authority to grant federal disaster aid to states. But it is highly unusual for a president to deny a governor’s request after FEMA field offices have verified that damage estimates exceed pre-established levels. Recent FEMA data and an AP analysis note that during this term Trump has approved 80% to 89% of requests from Republican-governed states, while denying roughly 40% to 77% of aid to Democratic states. WH spokesperson Abigail Jackson insists there is no politicization of disaster aid: “President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him — gone are the days of rubber stamping FEMA recommendations.”
Previous administrations have usually approved snow assistance requests regardless of partisanship. For example, when former Republican governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum (now Interior Secretary) sought snow assistance after a 2022 snowstorm, his $1.7 million request for storm damage was just above his state’s FEMA threshold. It was approved in 23 days by then-president Biden.
Trump has shifted his original rhetoric from abolishing the agency to instead applying unprecedented cost-cutting moves. The administration has been actively working to heavily scale back the scope of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The administration is:
- Proposing a reduction of the federal government’s share of disaster aid from a minimum of 75% to 50% (needs Congressional approval).
- Delaying approval of disaster aid– Trump is averaging a month and a half to declare disasters, as opposed to average disaster approval times of less that 2 weeks for predecessors Obama, both Bush presidents, and Clinton. Delays seriously impact citizens waiting on personal recovery aid for housing, call centers and relief teams, or local and state governments needing large-scale debris removal or infrastructure repairs.
- Cancelling hazard mitigation programs such as FEMA’s BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities). $750 million in pre-disaster grants were abruptly ended mid-award cycle under the Fiscal Year 2024 (NOFO) Notice of Funding Opportunity. (BRIC was later ordered restored after legal challenges).
There are Congressional worries about “deteriorating readiness” at FEMA. FEMA has been experiencing structural disarray and leadership turnover- with heavy downsizing, hiring freezes, understaffing, and cycling through 5 different leaders over the past 16 months.
Cameron Hamilton was the first of five acting leaders at FEMA since last January- terminated by Kristi Noem after he went against Trump’s initial assertion that FEMA should be abolished. In his FEMA director role, he had publicly resisted the idea of shuttering FEMA, testifying to the House Appropriations Committee- “I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” He was fired the following day.
Now that previously fired FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton has been nominated by Trump as FEMA’s permanent administrator, it signals that Trump may support changes to FEMA rather than outright elimination of the agency. While debate over FEMA’s future will continue, one fact is clear: when disasters strike, citizens need timely effective taxpayer-funded resources to rebuild their lives. The fundamental role of government has always been to make those resources available when Americans need help most.
