Local governments across the Northeast are struggling after the Trump administration officially shut the door on requests for blizzard recovery aid. In Rhode Island, Governor Dan McKee and the state’s congressional delegation are pushing back hard after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, rejected the state’s request for $19 million to cover costs from February’s historic storm.
According to News From The States, this denial comes despite the state apparently clearly meeting the thresholds required for federal help. McKee’s office had already appealed the initial denial from April, but in a letter sent this past Wednesday, FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton confirmed the agency was sticking to its guns. Taking to X, Hamilton explained, “Winter weather is not new to the Northeast. Federal disaster aid is not a backstop for routine state & local budgeting.”
