
Federal disaster aid is nearly everywhere. About 94% of Americans live in a county that has gotten Federal Emergency Management Agency help for disasters since 2011.
But disaster aid — for decades a mostly bipartisan issue — is suddenly a political hot button after Hurricane Helene last year and this year’s California wildfires. President Donald Trump and a conservative think have floated the possibility of shifting disaster response to the states, including eliminating FEMA or curtailing federal handouts.