Eric Zuesse
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
4 September 2026, posted by Eric Zuesse. (All of my recent articles can be seen here.)
23 March 2026
President Donald Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He approved just 23 percent of disaster funding requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators since returning to office 14 months ago. For states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators, it’s the opposite — Trump has approved 89 percent of their requests.
There has never been such a sharp partisan disparity in the approval of federal disaster funds since FEMA was created in 1979, according to a review of 2,500 natural disaster declarations by POLITICO’s E&E News. …
Trump’s recent disaster declarations contrast sharply with his first term, when he approved 93 percent of requests from Democratic-led states — compared to 89 percent from states controlled by Republicans.
Political considerations had “zero” effect on disaster decisions in his first term, said Peter Gaynor, who ran the agency from 2019 to 2021. …
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), asked about E&E News’ findings, instead blamed Democrats for slowing the distribution of disaster aid by forcing a partial government shutdown of the Homeland Security Department. …
Ignoring FEMA’s advice
Trump’s actions are legal. Federal law gives presidents complete authority over whether and when to approve state disaster requests. …
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, also known as PA, pays at least 75 percent of the costs of emergency response and infrastructure repairs. …
The agency’s assessments are crucial to determining whether an event meets the statutory definition of a “disaster,” which encompasses events so severe that “effective response is beyond the capabilities” of state and local governments.
“When I was involved, about 100 percent of the time they would make that recommendation for PA approval or denial based on meeting the PA per-capita indicator,” said former FEMA chief of staff Michael Coen, who held senior agency positions under Democratic Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Every president from the second Bush through Biden has approved every PA request when FEMA found the costs of an event exceeded its threshold, according to a review of agency records dating to 2007. …
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1 July 2026, Steve Benen
Trump published a lengthy series of items online late Tuesday afternoon, announcing his approval of disaster aid. The statements weren’t exactly subtle:
- Florida: The president wrote that he had approved $415.9 million in federal disaster relief, adding, “Much of it is going to one of my favorite places in the entire World, the Panhandle!” Florida’s Panhandle is one of the most politically conservative parts of the state.
- Kansas: Trump wrote that he had approved $5.5 million in federal disaster relief after speaking with Sen. Roger Marshall — a Republican incumbent who just happens to be running for re-election — adding, “I love the incredible people of Kansas, and they will soon have a fantastic Governor in Ty Masterson, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
- Michigan: The president wrote that he had approved $32.1 million in federal disaster aid before adding, “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.”
- Louisiana: Trump wrote that he had approved $8.6 million in federal disaster relief before adding, “Louisiana is truly a special place, with Governor Jeff Landry, Senator John Kennedy, soon to be Senator Julia Letlow, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Congressman Clay Higgins.”
- Wisconsin: The president wrote that he had approved $22.6 million in federal disaster relief after speaking to Rep. Tom Tiffany, “who has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Governor!” The same statement also said, “The wonderful people of Wisconsin are in good hands with Tom, alongside Senator Ron Johnson, and ‘Trump Endorsed’ Congressmen Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, Scott Fitzgerald, Glenn Grothman, and Tony Wied.”
- Idaho: Trump wrote that he had approved $4.5 million in federal disaster aid after speaking with Republican Gov. Brad Little, “who has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election!”
The president, in other words, has simply dropped any pretense of propriety. He stopped hinting about a connection between his election goals and federal disaster assistance, and started making the connection overt. …
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2 September 2026, Steve Benen
Donald Trump’s politicization of federal disaster relief funds has become one of the most important scandals of his second term. …
Late Tuesday afternoon …, over the course of roughly an hour, he used his social media platform to announce seven disaster relief requests that he had just approved. Their similarities were hardly subtle:
- Iowa: Trump announced that he has approved $5 million in disaster funds for the state, while adding, in reference to the GOP’s U.S. Senate nominee, “I just spoke to the future Senator (Hopefully!) from the Great State of Iowa, Ashley Hinson. … I love Iowa, and won it BIG all three times, by Record Margins.”
- Kentucky: He announced that he has approved $9.1 million in relief aid for the state, while adding, “I just informed Andy Barr, who is running to be the next Senator from the incredible Commonwealth of Kentucky. … Vote for Andy Barr — He has my Complete and Total Endorsement, and he will never let you down!”
- South Dakota: Trump announced that he has approved $3.4 million in disaster funds for the state, while specifically touting Gov. Larry Rhoden, a Republican who’s running for re-election this year. The same online statement added, “South Dakota is a special place, which I won by Historic Margins, three times, and I will always deliver BIG for them!”
- Missouri: He announced that he has approved $19.9 million in relief aid for the state, adding, “The people of Missouri are tough, smart, and truly Great Patriots — I will never let you down!”
- Kansas: Trump announced that he has approved more than $20 million in disaster funds for the state and said of a GOP incumbent who’ll be on the ballot this year, “I just informed Senator Roger Marshall, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
- North Dakota: He announced that he has approved $3.4 million in relief aid for the state, before signing off, “I love the people of North Dakota, which I won BIG all three times. MAGA!”
- Texas: Trump announced that he has approved $50.5 million in disaster funds for the state, before touting a slate of GOP candidates: “I just informed Governor Greg Abbott, of the GREAT State of Texas (who has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election!) … Texas is a special place, and I will be back soon to support Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, and the entire ticket of Republican Candidates, who have my Complete and Total Endorsement. See you soon!”
… White House officials have repeatedly argued, on the record, that there’s “no politicization to the president’s decisions on disaster relief,” and that Trump handles disaster requests “with great care.” …
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MY COMMENTS:
If one defines “libertarian” and “neoliberal” as opposition to government (not to any particular government but to government itself — ANY government) and to its laws and regulations, and support for privatization, so that public property becomes instead private property and thus subject to control by private investors and no longer by elected representatives of — and for the benefit of — the public, then is Trump being a “libertarian” (“neoliberal”) here? What he is doing, in regard to disaster coverage (a type of insurance that’s provided by government) — socialization of some extreme-disaster risks — is beneficial to the Republican Party, against the Democratic Party, but BOTH Parties are controlled only by their mega-donors, virtually all of whom are billionaires. What Trump is doing here is therefore partial to the Republican Party’s billionaires but negative to Democratic Party billionaires: it forces them to donate even more money to their Party’s politicians in order to negate the political advantage that this President is giving, in this way, to his Party’s billionaires — who have funded his own political career. In short, Trump is serving his own interests here. He is using the Government to serve himself. He is carrying out libertarianism-neoliberalism in a way that his predecessors were not so bold as to do. This is a TYPE of privatization of the Government. It is therefore libertarian-neoliberal. The first-ever official program of privatization was by Mussolini. The second was by Hitler. Trump is in their tradition. Only his hatreds are different.
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s latest book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
