Trump Denies Disaster Aid to Blue States
Trump administration denies FEMA funds to Democratic-led states
Trump has repeatedly shown a willingness to impose conditions on critical funds for disaster recovery.
April 15, 2025, 5:14 PM EDT By Ja’han Jones
Late last week, the Trump administration officially denied the state of Washington’s request for disaster aid to assist with recovery efforts related to last year’s “bomb cyclone” that killed at least two people and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.
The administration sent a letter Friday responding to former Gov. Jay Inslee, who filed the request for $34 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency before his term ended and he was replaced by current Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson. The letter says:
This is in response to your January 14, 2025, request for a major disaster declaration for the State of Washington as a result of severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides during the period of November 17 to November 23, 2024. You specifically requested a declaration for Public Assistance for six counties and Hazard Mitigation statewide. Based on our review of all the information available, it has been determined that supplemental federal assistance under the Stafford Act is not warranted. Therefore, I must inform you that your request for a major disaster declaration is denied.
The letter doesn’t give a specific reason to justify why the administration thinks the funds aren’t warranted. The Fox affiliate in Seattle reports that the cyclone ravaged local infrastructure like highways, utilities and public electrical power systems and that thousands of damage reports have been filed.
Ferguson said he plans to appeal the decision:
There are very clear criteria to qualify for these emergency relief funds. Washington’s application met all of them. This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding. Washington communities have been waiting for months for the resources they need to fully recover from last winter’s devastating storms, and this decision will cause further delay. We will appeal.
Denying federal disaster aid to areas led by Democrats has become a trend for President Donald Trump — one that dates to 2018, when his first administration withheld aid from Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Last week, the administration notified North Carolina that it would no longer fully reimburse the state for funds it’s spending to recover from the devastation it suffered from Hurricane Helene last year. The move is particularly ironic considering that Trump’s pitch to North Carolina voters hinged on disinformation about the purported lack of federal aid. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein denounced the move, and North Carolina is also appealing the decision. Local outlet NC Newsline explained that “the agency’s decision means that North Carolina will lose a critical share of federal assistance in what’s expected to be a years-long rebuild process.” The Trump administration had previously refused to approve a recovery budget for the city of Asheville unless officials cut references to a program to help minority- and women-owned businesses.
To put some context around these recent decisions, Trump has openly stated his desire to withhold disaster aid from California (led by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom) for the recent Los Angeles County wildfires recovery unless officials agree to institute restrictive voting laws in the state.
Trump has also floated the idea of shutting down FEMA entirely, a plan that risks leaving states without critical aid in the wake of natural catastrophes. But in lieu of a complete shutdown, he and his administration seem content to weaponize FEMA and deny residents in Democratic-led states the recovery funds they desperately need.
Ja’han Jones is an MSNBC opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. He is a futurist and multimedia producer focused on culture and politics. His previous projects include “Black Hair Defined” and the “Black Obituary Project.”
- media
- organizations
- state, local governments
- foreign governments
- political parties
- Federal Government
- Constitution of the United States
- First Amendment
- Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)
- US Courts
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
-
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Ric Grenell
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Weather Service (NWS)
-
Department of Defense (DOD)
-
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
- U.S. Military Academy, West Point
- U.S. Air Force
- Joint Base Andrews
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
- U.S. Marine Corps
- National Guard
- U.S. Navy
- National Guard
- U.S. Space Command
- U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
- U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
- U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
- Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM)
- U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
- U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
- Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)
- U.S. European Command (USEUCOM)
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
-
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)
- Congress
- President of the United States (POTUS)
- White House (WH)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower / The White House
- President Barack Obama
- President Joe Biden
- Trump crime businesses
- DT Marks DEFI LLC
-
The Executive Branch Club
- Chris Buskirk
- Adam Foroughi / LinkedIn
- Omeed Malik / LinkedIn
- Jeff Miller
- Chamath Palihapitiya / LinkedIn
- David Sacks
- Donald Trump Jr.
- Cameron Winklevoss / LinkedIn
- Tyler Winklevoss / LinkedIn
- Alex Witkoff
- Steve Witkoff
- Zachary Witkoff / LinkedIn
-
World Liberty Financial
- Corey Kaplan / LinkedIn
- Corey Caplan
- Thomas DiFiore, FRM·CAIA / LinkedIn
- Alex Dulub / LinkedIn
- Ryan Fang / LinkedIn
- Zak Folkman / LinkedIn
- Alex Golubitsky / LinkedIn
- Chase Herro
- Octavian Lojnita / LinkedIn
- Matt Morgan
- Sandy Peng
- Luke Pearson
- Bogdan Purnavel / LinkedIn
- Brandi Reynolds, CAMS-Audit, CCAS / LinkedIn
- Rich Teo / LinkedIn
- Barron Trump
- Rafael Yakobi / LinkedIn
- $TRUMP
- $MELANIA
- Trump Media and Technology Group
- Trump Organization
- The Mar-a-Lago Club
- Trump International Golf Club
- Trump National Doral Golf Club
- Trump National Jupiter Golf Club
- Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C.
- Trump National Golf Club Bedminster
- Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck
- Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia
- Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley
- Trump National Golf Club Westchester
- Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles
- Trump International Golf Club Dubai
- Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, Doonbeg
- Trump MacLeod House & Lodge Scotland
- Trump Turnberry
- Trump crime family
- Donald J Trump
- Eric F. Trump / LinkedIn
- Donald Trump Jr. / LinkedIn
- Ivanka Trump
- Jared Kushner
- President Donald Trump (45)
- President Donald Trump (47)
- President Trump (47) Administration
- President Trump (47) Cabinet
- grift
- self-dealing
- corruption
- con
- crime
- cryptocurrency
- criminal businesses
- criminal associates
- criminal partners
Related Posts
- Trump’s Quixotic Tariffs Irreparably Damages America's Superpower Reputation
- Trump’s On Again, Off Again, On Again Tariffs. Plans to Tank World’s Stock Markets August 1, 2025 12:01 AM EDT
- 2025-07-08: World Stock Market Closing Indexes: Americas (Moderate Gains). Europe, Middle East, & Africa (Strong Gains). Asia Pacific (Strong Gains).