The president has approved just 23 percent of blue state requests for

disaster aid, compared to 89 percent for red states

Madison, WI – New analysis from POLITICO highlights how President Trump is cherrypicking which states get relief after a climate disaster strikes—endangering the lives and livelihoods of blue state residents for purely political purposes. These findings come as Americans in red and blue states are struggling with the cost of skyrocketing utility and gas bills thanks to Trump’s vendetta against clean energy and his unpopular war in Iran. This data makes it clearer than ever before: Trump is playing politics with American lives while sending the cost of living through the roof. 

POLITICO: It’s three times harder for blue states to get disaster funding under Trump

President Donald Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He approved just 23 percent of disaster funding requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators since returning to office 14 months ago. For states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators, it’s the opposite — Trump has approved 89 percent of their requests.

There has never been such a sharp partisan disparity in the approval of federal disaster funds since FEMA was created in 1979, according to a review of 2,500 natural disaster declarations by POLITICO’s E&E News.

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.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “There is no politicization to the President’s decisions on 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,” Jackson said in a statement that did not directly address E&E News’ findings.

The Department of Homeland Security, which houses FEMA, also did not address the partisan disparity in Trump’s approval rates. “Any suggestion that disaster decisions are politically motivated does not reflect how the process works or how FEMA carries out its mission,” DHS said in a statement.

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.