(The Center Square) – As red and blue states face rejection amid recent disasters, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied claims on Thursday that her department prioritizes relief in Republican-led areas.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., begged the question during a subcommittee hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s 2026 budget request. Much of it centered on immigration enforcement, but Murray grilled Noem over the alleged politicization of federal relief funding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which supports Americans in the face of natural disasters, falls under the oversight of DHS. Since President Donald Trump took office, FEMA has denied funding requests from at least one Republican-led and two Democratic-led states.
“Disaster relief has been politicized,” Murray claimed Thursday. “DHS is making it a lot harder to qualify for relief, something people in my home state of Washington are experiencing firsthand.”
FEMA rejected Washington state funding last month without providing a clear reason why.
Gov. Bob Ferguson released a statement that the state had met all the criteria after a windstorm hit Washington state last November. According to KUOW, an NPR station out of Seattle, FEMA has also denied relief funding for recent fires in California and tornadoes in Arkansas.
KUOW also claims that FEMA rejected requests from Tennessee and Wisconsin, though there isn’t publicly available information to support this. The Center Square contacted FEMA and the governor’s office in both states for confirmation but did not receive an immediate response.
“Multiple requests from governors have been rejected in recent weeks, including a request from our state, and we haven’t been given any response about this,” Murray said. “I’m watching this, and I’m thinking, has President Trump directed you to prioritize funding for Republican states?”
“Absolutely not,” Noem immediately responded.
Murray claimed that Republican states are getting responses to their requests much faster than Democratic-led states, which “are being forced to wait. Trump has repeatedly criticized FEMA and suggested that the federal government should give the funding directly to the states.
The president’s “skinny budget” proposal for next year asks Congress to cut non-defense spending by $163 billion, a 22% reduction, some of which targets “wasteful and woke” FEMA programs.
“Have you directed your staff to prioritize funding to Republican-led states over Democratic states?” Murray pressed again.
“Absolutely not,” Noem told Murray. “There will not be any politicization of support, relief, FEMA assistance or grants given based on politics. Every single person will be treated the same; it’ll be very different than the Biden administration.”
