Over the past year (2025), FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has quietly changed how and when it delivers aid. Counties with clear destruction, residents with urgent need, and states following procedure are being turned down fast.

When Help Doesn’t Come

In recent months, even disasters that meet FEMA’s damage thresholds are being turned away.

Maryland (May 2025): After flash floods swept through Allegany and Garrett Counties, FEMA denied both Individual Assistance (IA) and Public Assistance (PA)—despite more than $10 million in damages. The state appealed.

Kentucky (May 2025): Tornadoes and flooding devastated Christian, Todd, and Leslie Counties. FEMA denied IA for two counties and PA for the third, though statewide losses exceeded $56 million.

Slower Aid

Even in places where FEMA grants are eventually approved, the process has slowed and grown more complex.

In June 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem instituted a new rule: any FEMA spending over $100,000 requires her personal sign-off. FEMA officials say it’s already adding days to the process.

After the Texas floods in July, FEMA call centers were overwhelmed. Due to staff cuts earlier in the year, over 5,000 claims were delayed, and two-thirds of calls went unanswered.

FEMA’s most important long-term program – the BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) fund—was quietly canceled in April 2025. Twenty states are suing to get it back.

When Your Application Gets Denied

Even if a disaster is declared, your application might not make it through – especially if you’re low-income, uninsured, or rent your home.

In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires (January 2025), FEMA received 112,000 applications for help. Only 19,000 were approved.

In western North Carolina, flood victims without insurance or formal property deeds were rejected at a high rate – especially those with “heirs’ property” passed down without paperwork.

FEMA tends to deny aid when:

  • Damage is labeled “minor,” even if homes are unlivable.
  • Ownership is unclear or informally documented.
  • Applicants are renters in counties lacking housing support programs.

Who Gets Left Out

Here’s who’s most likely to be denied federal help:

  • Rural and inland counties
  • Low-income families
  • Uninsured homeowners and renters
  • Small-scale disaster zones
  • Communities seeking to protect themselves against future calamities.

Why Is This Happening?

A Department of Homeland Security memo leaked in spring 2025 revealed a new policy focus: “state responsibility first.” Instead of FEMA stepping in early and generously, the burden is being pushed to local and state governments.

The logic behind it is to control federal spending (more tax relief for the wealthy has to be paid for somehow), but this has completely undermined FEMA’s mission, leaving the most vulnerable communities behind. (The irony is that the states least able to help their citizens are often the states that voted for Trump. Red states typically depend on federal assistance at higher rates than blue ones.)

What Comes Next?

A few things to watch:

  • Appeals from Maryland and Kentucky could set a precedent. Rulings are expected in August 2025.
  • A major lawsuit to restore the BRIC program could determine whether resilience projects resume in 2026.
  • Congressional hearings in September will investigate FEMA’s new thresholds and delays.

So… Will the Government Help You?

That depends. Is your house expensive enough? Is your damage dramatic enough? Is your community politically visible enough?

What we’re seeing now is a sharp pivot away from national disaster solidarity, toward “every state for itself.” For renters, rural communities, and working families, that’s a dangerous shift. But homeowners and urban centers are not safe: FEMA’s policy shift, personnel shortages, and funding cuts mean that no one can feel assured that the federal government is going to be there for them if disaster strikes.