A White House spokesperson said there is “no politicization to the president’s decisions on disaster relief.” There’s compelling evidence to the contrary.
A White House spokesperson insisted there’s “no politicization to the president’s decisions on disaster relief.â€
There’s some pretty compelling evidence to the contrary.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-07-09T18:58:56.730Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-fema-politicizing-disaster-aid-blue-states
The White House was already facing credible allegations of having politicized federal disaster relief funds, and in recent days, concerns reached a new level. Politico reported:
President Donald Trump denied disaster aid to four Democratic-led states in a move that is raising new questions about whether he’s injecting political motivations into emergency management decisions.
Trump on Friday rejected $227 million in aid requests from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island for help recovering from a major snowstorm in February. Two days earlier, Trump approved Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster aid for six Republican-led states, while extolling the political virtues of GOP politicians and candidates in the states.
The pattern has hardly gone unnoticed.
Members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation sent the president a letter earlier this week, explaining, “
On the same day you approved major disaster declarations for several Republican-led states, you chose to leave Rhode Islanders out in the cold. It is unacceptable to politicize the disaster declaration process.”.....
In other words, even as the White House tells the public that “there is no politicization to the president’s decisions on disaster relief,” Trump has literally connected campaign endorsements to his approvals for aid requests, a move that has no precedent in American history.
PETERS: Yes or no, do you think it's right for a president to approve disaster aid based on whether a state voted for him instead of the amount of damage in the state? This chart behind me is pretty dramatic
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: That's not my experience of the president
P: This chart speaks volumes
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-02T20:00:31.487Z
.....
“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 in response to the data. “
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.”
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