FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) 鈥� 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 鈥渢horough review,” FEMA acting administrator Karen S. Evans told Polis in a pair of letters.
The letters didn鈥檛 explain the denials in detail. Polis in a statement called it 鈥渋ncredibly disappointing鈥� after Colorado communities responded quickly to the disasters, documented the damage and worked in good faith with federal officials.
鈥淭hese disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure, and local economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs alone,鈥� 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鈥檚 discretion.
In December, when Trump first rejected Colorado, Polis accused the president of with the disaster declarations.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied the decisions were political. The administration responds to each request with 鈥済reat care and consideration鈥� 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.
鈥淧resident 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 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 of public FEMA data by Andrew Rumbach, senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Urban Institute.
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.
鈥淭hese are definitely questions worth asking, but I haven鈥檛 reached a conclusion that there鈥檚 clear political bias going on here,鈥� Rumbach said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 really important that FEMA and DHS be as transparent as possible about how they鈥檙e making these decisions.鈥�
Rejections have prompted criticisms from Democratic governors like Wes Moore of Maryland and JB Pritzker of Illinois, who called Trump鈥檚 February rejection of the state鈥檚 appeal for help recovering from August 2025 floods 鈥渁 politically motivated decision that punishes thousands of Illinois families in a critical moment of need.鈥�
Meanwhile, Colorado鈥檚 attorney general, Phil Weiser, against other recent federal decisions against Colorado, including , threatening to cut transportation money, and
Some U.S. communities have also experienced on their disaster requests during Trump鈥檚 second term, which critics say delays their response and puts 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 last week after being briefed by Mullin.
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Associated Press writer Aoun Angueira reported from San Diego.
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