The Trump administration once again refused to grant New York and New Jersey more than $250 million to help the states recover from February’s blizzard.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday denied appeals from both states, which have been seeking federal help to recoup the money spent responding to the storms.
New York reported $168 million and New Jersey reported $84 million in damages from the blizzard, which dumped upwards of 30 inches of snow across the region. Without federal assistance, it will be up to the state and local governments to bear the full cost of the disaster.
The states applied for federal help in the spring, after each determined that the damages met the thresholds for disaster relief. Politico previously reported that President Donald Trump, who holds the ultimate authority to approve disaster declarations, overrode FEMA officials and denied the applications in July.
New York and New Jersey had appealed that original denial; those appeals have now been denied as well. Democratic leaders in both states say Trump is punishing them for unrelated political differences.
“This storm met every FEMA threshold for federal assistance, yet the Trump Administration continues to play political games and betray every New Yorker who believes that the federal government is there to protect and support them,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “By refusing to intervene and grant our request, President Trump has told every New Yorker who weathered this major storm and the first responders, utility crews and emergency management staff who worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe that you do not matter to him.”
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she’d continue seeking federal relief.
“Donald Trump is using the federal government to punish those he sees as his political enemies, and everyday New Jerseyans are paying the price,” Sherrill said in a statement. “Natural disasters don’t care about political parties.”
Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, denied any politicization in Trump’s decisions and said the President responds to requests for federal assistance with “great care and consideration.”
Bis, who sent separate statements to Gothamist for each state that were almost identical except for the names of the states and their governors, said both New York and New Jersey had the means to handle the storms and criticized Hochul and Sherrill for seeking federal help.
FEMA said the states did not provide new information to consider beyond their original applications.
“Winter weather is not new to the Northeast and neither is snow removal,” FEMA spokesperson Victoria Barton said in a statement. “Federal disaster aid is not a backstop for routine state and local budgeting.”
Congressional Democrats from both states stood alongside the Governors in criticizing the denial.
“New Jersey rightfully qualifies for millions in disaster aid because the severe storms our state suffered this past winter exceeds the threshold for federal disaster assistance – exactly the kind of catastrophe that this support is designed to respond to,” Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker said in a joint statement. “Without good explanation or justification, Trump’s government is again politicizing disaster relief and denying New Jersey the support needed. This is a completely unacceptable decision.”
Rep. Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat representing much of Middlesex and Monmouth counties, reiterated his call for an investigation into federal disaster relief distribution under Trump.
“Where are the Republicans in Congress? I asked the committee chairs responsible for overseeing FEMA to investigate this weeks ago. Not one of them even bothered to respond,” Pallone said in a statement. “Trump is treating federal disaster aid like his personal political slush fund, and Republicans in Congress are too afraid to lift a finger to stop him.”
Hochul called on Republicans to demand more for New Yorkers.
“Republican members of Congress across New York are also enabling this neglect,” Hochul said. “Their continued silence and refusal to break with the President is a direct betrayal of the communities they were elected to serve.”
