Trump again rejects Colorado amid accusations of playing politics with
disaster aid
[April 15, 2026]
By MEAD GRUVER and GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — President Donald Trump has again denied a
request from Colorado's governor to help people affected by wildfires
and flooding, consistent with his approval of major disaster aid to
Republican-leaning states at about twice the rate he approves aid
requests from Democratic ones.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, sought major disaster declarations for
wildfires that scorched 240 square miles (615 square kilometers) in the
western part of the state and for floods that inundated mountain
communities in southern Colorado last year.
Polis requested FEMA public assistance, which enables communities to get
reimbursed for debris cleanup and infrastructure rebuilding, as well as
hazard-mitigation funding, which helps states build back with more
resilience.
Trump first denied Colorado's requests late last year. On Monday, Trump
upheld that decision on appeal after a “thorough review," FEMA acting
administrator Karen S. Evans told Polis in a pair of letters.
The letters didn’t explain the denials in detail. Polis in a statement
called it “incredibly disappointing” after Colorado communities
responded quickly to the disasters, documented the damage and worked in
good faith with federal officials.
“These disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure, and local
economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs
alone,” Polis said.
While FEMA assesses damage and uses a specific formula to analyze the
possible impact on states and local jurisdictions, disaster declarations
are ultimately at the president’s discretion.
In December, when Trump first rejected Colorado, Polis accused the
president of playing “political games” with the disaster declarations.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied the decisions were
political. The administration responds to each request with “great care
and consideration” to make sure federal revenue is used appropriately
and efficiently to supplement, but not substitute, states' obligation to
respond to disasters, Jackson told The Associated Press in a statement
Tuesday.
“President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration
requests than any administration has before him," Jackson said.
Other Democrat-led states have complained about being denied disaster
declarations despite proving need.
Nearly 84% of disaster requests from states that voted for Trump have
been approved in his second term, while about 42% of requests from
states that voted for 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala
Harris were approved, according to an analysis of public FEMA data by
Andrew Rumbach, senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Urban
Institute.
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Flooding is seen near Vallecito Reservoir, Oct. 11, 2025, near
Bayfield, Colo. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP)
Rumbach was uncertain whether politics clearly came into play with
the decisions. There have been about 60 requests from states, a
small sample size, he said, and it was possible that states made
insufficient cases that they needed the help.
“These are definitely questions worth asking, but I haven’t reached
a conclusion that there’s clear political bias going on here,”
Rumbach said. “That’s why it’s really important that FEMA and DHS be
as transparent as possible about how they’re making these
decisions.”
Rejections have prompted criticisms from Democratic governors like
Wes Moore of Maryland and JB Pritzker of Illinois, who called
Trump’s February rejection of the state’s appeal for help recovering
from August 2025 floods “a politically motivated decision that
punishes thousands of Illinois families in a critical moment of
need.”
Meanwhile, Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, has been
pushing back against other recent federal decisions against
Colorado, including dissolving a climate research lab, threatening
to cut transportation money, withholding funds for needy families
and relocating the U.S. Space Command to Alabama.
Some U.S. communities have also experienced unprecedented long waits
for answers on their disaster requests during Trump’s second term,
which critics say delays their response and puts particular pressure
on rural towns and counties with smaller budgets.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week vowed to
clear out some of the backlog of requests in the run-up to Atlantic
hurricane season, which begins June 1. Trump approved major disaster
declaration requests for at least seven states last week after being
briefed by Mullin.
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Associated Press writer Aoun Angueira reported from San Diego.
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