During the recent government shutdown, the Trump administration started cutting energy grants to states, but the only states that were affected were ones that Donald Trump lost in last year’s elections. Last week, federal lawyers conceded in a court filing that this was not a coincidence.
On the contrary, two months after officials in blue states accused the White House of “mafioso tactics,” administration officials were unexpectedly candid in acknowledging that they did precisely what they were accused of doing. “[C]onsideration of partisan politics is constitutionally permissible, including because it can serve as a proxy for legitimate policy considerations,” they argued.
The broader question, however, is just how frequently the Republican president and his team are applying this approach.
Take federal disaster aid, for example.
After Illinois suffered extensive damage from two major storms over the summer, for example, state officials sought federal disaster aid. After the White House said no, Politico reported, “Trump’s denials are the first time any president since at least 2007 — including Trump to this point — has refused to help residents recover from such extensive damage to their homes, federal records show.”
It wasn’t just Illinois (a state Trump lost by 11 points). Maryland (a state Trump lost by 29 points) and Vermont (a state Trump lost by 31 points) found their appeals for federal relief funds denied, too.
Colorado (a state Trump lost by 11 points) has found itself in the same club. The Associated Press reported:
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis accused President Donald Trump of playing ‘political games’ Sunday after the Trump administration denied disaster declaration requests following wildfires and flooding in the state earlier this year.
Polis’ office said he received late Saturday two denial letters from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The letters follow requests for major disaster declarations following wildfires and mudslides in August and what Polis had described as ‘historic flooding’ across southwest Colorado in October.
“Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in Southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing,” the Democratic governor said in a written statement.
Although the White House denied political considerations, one day before the administration rejected Colorado’s aid request, the president published an item to his social media platform that read, “I have just informed Senator Roger Marshall that I have approved $5.7 Million Dollars for the wonderful State of Kansas in order to recover from severe storms, tornados, and flooding. These are tough and smart Patriots who love our Country, and will rebuild stronger than ever before!”
Everything about the message was overtly political, including Trump referring to Marshall by name but not Kansas’ governor or Republican Sen. Jerry Moran. The difference: Marshall is currently running for reelection and will be on the ballot in 11 months.
Around the same time, Trump also wrote online, “I just spoke with Governor Greg Gianforte, of the Great State of Montana, and informed him that I will be approving an Emergency Declaration for Montana for severe storms they experienced this month. I LOVE MONTANA!”








