By Alex Brown, Stateline.org
ISSAQUAH, Wash. — In the wake of recent natural disasters, state leaders across the country are finding that emergency support from the federal government is no longer a given.
Under President Donald Trump, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied federal assistance for tornadoes in Arkansas, flooding in West Virginia and a windstorm in Washington state. It also has refused North Carolina’s request for extended relief funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
While it’s not uncommon for the feds to turn down some requests for disaster declarations, which unlock federal aid, state leaders say the Trump administration’s denials have taken them by surprise. White House officials are signaling a new approach to federal emergency response, even as Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threaten to shut down FEMA altogether.
“The Federal Government focuses its support on truly catastrophic disasters—massive hurricanes, devastating earthquakes, or wide-scale attacks on the homeland,” Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, which advises the president on issues of national security, said in a statement to Stateline.
Hughes said state and local governments “often remain an impediment to their own community’s resilience.” He called on states to take on a more extensive role.
“States must have adequate emergency management staff, adoption and enforcement of modern building codes, responsible planning and strategic investment to reduce future risk, commonsense policies that prioritize preparedness over politics, disaster reserve funds to handle what should be routine emergencies, pre-negotiated mutual aid and contingency contracts that speed up recovery, and above all, an appetite to own the problem,” the statement said.
State emergency management leaders say the federal retreat from disaster response has upended a long-established system.
“This is very unusual,” said Karina Shagren, communications director with the Washington Military Department, which oversees the state’s emergency management division. “This is the first time in recent memory that we have hit all the indicators to get FEMA’s public assistance program and we’ve been denied.”
Michael Coen, who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Obama and Biden administrations, said the president has “broad discretion” to approve or deny disaster requests, regardless of whether they meet specified conditions. If Trump intends to curtail federal support, Coen said, he should give states clear guidelines.
“They should have a dialogue with the states, so the states aren’t spinning their wheels making requests that are going to get denied,” Coen said.
He added that states need guidance if they’re expected to build emergency management programs to take on what the feds once handled. Not all states, Coen said, have the capacity to replicate those functions. And disasters are expected to increase in frequency and severity because of climate change.
“Having that capability in every single state instead of having one FEMA is not the best use of tax dollars to prepare for the worst day,” he said.
Historically, FEMA has coordinated the federal response during emergency situations. In the National Security Council statement, Hughes said Trump has promptly authorized “life-saving emergency support to states during and in the immediate aftermath of disasters.”
But the agency’s larger role has focused on recovery after disasters, assessing damage and distributing funding to help communities rebuild. Now, some communities are finding that support is no longer a sure thing.
Issaquah, Washington, was among the cities hit hard by the “bomb cyclone” that ripped through the state last November. Severe winds killed two people in the state, knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of residents and caused millions in damage, state officials said.
A city of about 40,000 residents in the Cascade foothills, Issaquah’s costs from the storm totaled $3.8 million — covering road repairs, removal of 800 tons of tree debris and overtime pay for first responders. Mayor Mary Lou Pauly said the city has seen four events since 2020 that qualified for federal disaster aid, with no previous denials. If Washington is unable to win its appeal with FEMA, she said, Issaquah will take a financial hit to its reserves, leaving it more vulnerable to future storms.
“We put a lot of investment in being resilient,” Pauly said. “When you get to a number like $3.8 million, that is too big of a number for us to be able to rebuild without assistance. Our residents pay federal taxes, and this is what they think they pay them for, this is what they expect their national government to do. They do not want me to set property taxes 100% higher.”
Pauly echoed Coen’s view that FEMA should give states a clear outline of the role it will play.
“What we all want to know is what are the rules of the game?” she said. “If the criteria has changed, then why aren’t we getting told about it?”
Washington state leaders said they were shocked when FEMA denied their request for $34 million to help repair roads, utilities and power systems. Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson said the state’s application met all of the “very clear criteria to qualify.” He has vowed to appeal the decision.
“We were really relying on that funding,” said Shagren, of the Washington Military Department. “If the appeal is denied, our local jurisdictions will have to prioritize which projects they can move forward with and which they don’t. They’re going to be impacted greatly. This wasn’t some small storm.”
Other states also have been surprised by FEMA denials. Arkansas suffered 14 tornadoes in March, triggering a request for a disaster declaration from Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. But the feds told state leaders to handle it on their own.
“[I]t has been determined that the damage from this event was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies,” the federal government’s denial read, according to Arkansas Times.
Sanders has appealed that decision, saying the disaster caused “widespread destruction” that requires federal help.
In West Virginia, state leaders asked for disaster aid to cover 14 counties that were struck by flooding in February. But FEMA denied individual assistance to seven of those counties. Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement that he is looking at options to appeal, but praised the Trump administration for its “strong support” following the floods.
Democratic leaders in the state have called on Morrisey to demand more help from the feds, WOWK reported.
Meanwhile, FEMA has said it will no longer match 100% of North Carolina’s spending to recover from September’s Hurricane Helene. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein said the cost share was crucial to the state’s efforts to rebuild.
“The need in western North Carolina remains immense — people need debris removed, homes rebuilt, and roads restored,” Stein said in a statement, according to NC Newsline. “I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days.”
Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org.
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