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The Trump administration has denied Maryland’s appeal for federal disaster aid for at least $33.7 million in flood damage caused by heavy rains in the western part of state in the spring.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency informed state officials late Wednesday night about the denial, which is final and cannot be appealed again.
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“This outcome is not just deeply frustrating, it also ignores the devastation wrought by historic floods in Appalachia and leaves Marylanders on their own,” Gov. Wes Moore (D), who has harshly criticized President Donald Trump, accusing him of withholding FEMA funds to punish Democrat-led states, said in a statement.
“President Trump and his Administration have politicized disaster relief, and our communities are the ones who will pay the price,” Moore said.
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On the same day FEMA informed Maryland it would receive no federal aid, Trump rapid-fire posted congratulations messages to a number of other states that did receive disaster relief. Some of those states received far less help than Maryland had asked for, and Trump suggested that he was motivated to provide assistance to states that had supported him in past elections.
“I just spoke with Governor Mike Kehoe, of the Great State of Missouri, and told him that I am approving $2.5 Million Dollars in individual assistance after severe storms, high winds, large hail, flash flooding, and tornadoes, which occurred earlier this year,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I won ‘The Show Me State’ three times in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and it is my Honor to deliver for these incredible Patriots!”
Trump wrote similar posts about Nebraska, Alaska, and North Dakota.
The floods that swept through Allegany and Garrett counties in May left hundreds of swamped homes and businesses, washed-out roads, blocked storm drains and wrecked sewage systems.AI Icon
More than 200 students and staff had to be evacuated by boat from an elementary school. Much of the damage was concentrated in small towns along Georges Creek, like Westernport, Maryland, which has a population of about 1,812 and an annual budget of roughly $2 million.
“This decision from FEMA is a profound disappointment for the resilient people of Westernport, who have faced unimaginable challenges in the wake of the May floods,” Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton said in a statement. “While this news is a setback, our community’s spirit remains unbroken.”
In June, the state’s full congressional delegation wrote a letter to Trump urging him to grant a declaration of a major disaster, including lone Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who is a close ally to the president and leads the House Freedom Caucus.
After Trump denied that initial request in July, Harris later reversed his position, telling Maryland Matters that the state should use part of the $1.6 billion in new taxes raised this year to pay for the disaster instead. (That $1.6 billion, which helped close a $3 billion deficit the state faced, had already been earmarked for other purposes in the state budget before the floods.)
At least nine other states and two Native American tribes were also waiting for FEMA to act on requests for disaster aid this summer, spurring criticism that Trump was slow to respond to major emergencies as he refashioned the federal agency. In late July, Trump announced in a flurry of Truth Social posts that most of those requests would be granted, at least in part. But Maryland was left out.
After the state’s initial application for aid was denied in July, Moore swiftly appealed the decision, triggering a months-long process that had the affected small mountain communities in Western Maryland waiting and hoping.
After the final denial was announced on Thursday, several Maryland Democrats, including members of the congressional delegation, criticized the president for turning his back on the state.
“It is so disappointing but not at all surprising to see the Trump Administration has left Maryland behind,” U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D) said in a statement. “Trump cares more about supporting billionaires than supporting Americans facing disaster.”
The damage in Maryland exceeded both state and local thresholds for receiving disaster assistance from FEMA, which typically makes a state eligible to receive federal relief when that occurs.AI Icon
A letter from FEMA to state leaders said that “after a thorough review of all the information contained in the initial request and appeal, we affirm the determination that supplemental federal assistance under the Stafford Act is not warranted.” The letter offered no other explanation.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and has not clearly explained why Maryland was denied assistance despite meeting those thresholds.
A spokeswoman for the White House said that the president does a more thorough review of requests for relief than previous administrations, and denied that his administration’s decisions to grant aid or not were politicized.
“The President responds to each request for Federal assistance under the Stafford Act with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement—not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
In Lonaconing, a one stoplight town along Georges Creek, many residents have not replaced their furnaces and some people have not yet returned to live in homes damaged by the floods.
Lonaconing Mayor Jack Coburn said his biggest worry is the number of people who may be forced to face the winter without a way to heat their homes. It’s already getting chilly in the town as October draws to a close. On Thursday, the afternoon temperature was hovering around 50 degrees, he said, and the weekend will be rainy.
Coburn said he fears people, especially elderly residents with fixed incomes, will be left without heat during the mountain town’s winter. Some might turn to small electric heaters inside their homes, but Coburn said that raises a new fear of electrical fires in older homes.
“There’s nothing we can do, we have to accept it,” he said. “When people say ‘What are we going to do?’ I don’t know what the answer is.”