Dems Decry Disaster Aid Denials as Trump Approves $846 Million to GOP States

Lawmakers are condemning President Donald Trump for politicizing disaster aid after he denied Democratic-led Rhode Island’s request for blizzard recovery assistance last week while approving millions in funds for Republican-leaning states.

In a series of Truth Social posts on June 30, Trump announced more than $846 million in disaster aid to states that voted for him in the 2024 presidential election. Such aid — granted in response to several extreme weather-related disasters, including wildfires, severe storms, and flooding — is generally approved by presidents and administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on a nonpartisan basis.

According to an Urban Institute analysis examining disaster aid approvals since Trump began his second term in office, over 84 percent of requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election have received approvals, while only 41 percent of requests from states that voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris have been approved. Red states also appear to receive approvals twice as fast as blue states do, the analysis found.

This is not the first time that Trump has appeared to refuse aid to states for partisan reasons. Last year, a group of Democratic-led states sued the administration for manipulating rules to withhold FEMA funds from them. And during his first term in office, Trump reportedly almost refused to grant aid to address California wildfires because the state generally elects Democrats. Only after he was told that the state has millions of Republican voters did he agree to provide funds, a former aide to the president revealed last year.

The administration denies that partisanship plays a role in determining which states are granted FEMA aid.

“President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him. … There is no politicization to the President’s decisions on disaster relief,” a White House spokesperson told ABC News.

But a group of Democratic senators says the process Trump is using is not transparent. In a letter sent to the White House last month, the lawmakers requested more information on how the administration makes its determinations.

“To date, President Trump’s Administration has provided no further information regarding what this new approval process entails or what metrics or other considerations it relies on, causing uncertainty that leaves disaster survivors in the dark,” those senators wrote.

Trump announced much of the latest round of aid approvals on his Truth Social website, stating that funds were set to be given to the states of Michigan, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Idaho. His posts highlighted Republican politicians that requested aid, with special emphasis on those he endorsed for re-election or for other offices.

In some of his posts announcing disaster aid, Trump thanked Republican politicians but disregarded Democratic ones entirely. For Wisconsin’s aid announcement, for example, Trump wrote that he had spoken directly to Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisconsin) — a pro-Trump candidate for governor in the state’s upcoming elections — implying that their conversation led to the decision.

“I just spoke with Congressman Tom Tiffany (who has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Governor!), and informed him that the Great State of Wisconsin has been approved to be given $22.6 Million Dollars in its Disaster Declaration Request, for Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding,” Trump wrote.

The president also thanked Reps. Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, Scott Fitzgerald, Glenn Grothman, and Tony Wied, as well as Sen. Ron Johnson, all of whom are Republicans. He did not thank the state’s three Democratic congressional delegates, who were part of the bipartisan request for aid, nor did he acknowledge the FEMA request from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

In the post announcing aid for Michigan, Trump mentioned that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) is “grateful,” but again focused his attention toward GOP politicians and candidates in the elections this fall.

“The people of Michigan are in good hands with ‘Trump Endorsed’ Mike Rogers, who is running for U.S. Senate, John James for Governor, and Congressmen Jack Bergman, John Moolenaar, Bill Huizenga, Tim Walberg, Tom Barrett, and Lisa McClain,” Trump wrote in his post.

Meanwhile, the administration denied Rhode Island all of its requested funding for disaster aid. The state had sought help for damages incurred during severe snowstorms last winter.

Rhode Island’s congressional delegation is composed of four Democrats (two members of the House and two senators) and zero Republicans. The state’s governor is a Democrat.

Taking note of the hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster funding that was approved for states that voted for Trump, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation accused the administration of playing favorites.

“Disaster aid should be merit-based, not politicized. This is a petty move that hurts people across the political spectrum. We will fight it and work to reverse it,” the delegation said in a statement.