Emails expose how Trump overruled his own agency to punish blue states

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he speaks to reporters before signing two executive orders regarding quantum computing, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

President Donald Trump has made little secret of his disinterest in addressing the needs of blue states that did not support him in 2024, and now, Politico reports that emails have exposed how he overruled his own agencies to punish those states when they needed relief.

In a Wednesday morning report, Politico cited "Emails between state and federal officials" that it had obtained, as well as over 150 documents, outlining Trump's habit of denying disaster relief to states he considers to be among his "political adversaries." Some of these denials came after his own government agencies determined that those states did indeed meet the thresholds for government aid.

"Emails between state and federal officials obtained by POLITICO along with more than 150 pages of documents submitted to FEMA by three states — New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — provide new details about Trump’s low rate of approving disaster aid for his political adversaries," the report detailed. "He also denied a request by New York after administration officials verified that it had met federal standards for approval, according to state officials. Trump’s rejections came after regional offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and NOAA determined that the states met government thresholds for receiving aid following a record-breaking snowstorm in February."

"The Blizzard of 2026 certainly achieved a pinnacle ranking in the memories of those who experienced it and climatologically in the historical rankings of snowstorms," a NOAA report about Rhode Island, among those obtained by Politico, explained.

While presidents have the sole authority to approve or deny disaster aid, Politico noted that it is "highly unusual" for them to deny requests after these agencies have already "verified that damage estimates exceeded preestablished levels," citing conversations with officials from past administrations, both Democrat and Republican.

"I can’t think of a time a declaration was denied," one anonymous ex-FEMA official said, referring to states that met certain agency disaster damage standards.

Since the administration of George W. Bush, Politico explained, presidents had "approved all 69 state requests for snow assistance that met FEMA." The one exception was a 2016 request from New Mexico, "which was being investigated for mishandling FEMA funds."

"The emails and documents, which haven’t previously been reported, shed new light on Trump’s decisions to reject an overwhelming number of requests for disaster aid from Democratic-led states, even as he has approved nearly 90 percent of requests from states that are governed by members of his own party," the report added. "The revelations also offer a fuller picture of Trump’s tenure over the most partisan distribution of FEMA aid since the agency was created in 1979. Trump’s recent rejections involving snow diverge from the actions of other presidents, including Trump in his first term, who routinely approved similar requests from governors of opposing parties."

In response to questions about these denials, a FEMA spokesperson attacked the notion that federal aid should be dispersed for "regular operations like snow removal." Snow removal was previously "targeted for elimination" as a possible way to reduce spending at FEMA under Trump's second administration.

“Without that aid, our local governments will be stuck with the costs of an unprecedented snowstorm that didn’t care about political boundaries,” Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey said in a statement to Politico.

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