Cold Winter, Colder Politics: Trump’s FEMA Blocks Flood Aid in Western Maryland

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(AURN News) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, is calling it what it is: “petty, partisan and punishing.”

The Biden-to-Trump handoff may have shifted power, but the pain in Western Maryland is real — and the Trump administration made it worse, according to Moore.

After devastating floods tore through Allegany and Garrett counties in May — wiping out roads, city vehicles, furnaces and working-class homes — the federal government denied disaster relief.

That’s despite neighboring West Virginia, which had similar damage, being approved for $11.7 million.

Moore isn’t buying FEMA’s silence on why. “His decision was a political decision,” he told reporters Sunday.

Trump’s administration approved West Virginia’s request, but Maryland — a Democratic-led state — got nothing but a letter.

Official damage estimates topped $90 million before FEMA whittled it down to under $16 million — and still denied aid.

Local leaders are appealing the decision, but Moore says he’s done trying to predict how Trump’s administration governs.