As the country witnesses the consequences of electing Donald Trump play out across multiple states, West Virginia is now the latest to suffer the cost of political loyalty. The state, which handed Trump a landslide 42-point victory in 2024—one of his largest margins nationally—is feeling the sting of his administration’s cold, indifferent response to disaster relief.
Despite being one of the most federally dependent states in the nation, with nearly half of its budget sourced from federal funds, West Virginia continues to vote for a candidate whose policies directly threaten that lifeline. The irony couldn’t be more painful—or more predictable.
West Virginia’s troubles under Trump’s leadership are mounting. The state has already endured the fallout of his spending freezes, reckless tariffs, staffing cuts to critical federal agencies, and a war on international shipping that’s crippled supply chains. Now, the state is paying the price when it comes to federal disaster aid.
In February, West Virginia was hit by devastating floods that killed several residents and caused extensive damage to homes and infrastructure. While FEMA approved public assistance—funds that go to state and local governments for cleanup and infrastructure repairs—it denied individual assistance for seven of the hardest-hit counties.
And that distinction matters. Public assistance helps cities and counties get back on their feet. But individual assistance is what helps people—real people—rebuild their homes, replace destroyed belongings, and recover from life-shattering loss. According to FEMA, individual assistance is designed to help those with “uninsured or under-insured necessary expenses and serious needs” return to a “safe, sanitary and functional residence.”
Under the Biden administration, individual assistance often reached families within days. Despite GOP lies about so-called “minimal” disaster payouts, such as the widely misrepresented $750 given to North Carolinians after Hurricane Helene, those payments were immediate emergency disbursements—just the first phase of a process that can eventually offer up to $42,500 in relief. But in Trump’s second term, FEMA has taken a harder, colder turn.
For West Virginians devastated by the floods? There’s no $750. There’s no phased assistance. There’s nothing.
And yet, in true Republican form, West Virginia’s GOP Governor Patrick Morrisey managed to respond to this insult with a bootlicking thank-you note to Trump.
“Despite today’s notification, I am grateful to the Trump Administration for their strong support for southern West Virginia’s recovery following the February floods,” Morrisey said in a statement. “FEMA has offered the ability to appeal this decision, and I will look at all options to do so.”
In other words, thanks for the slap in the face—may I have another?
This is the Republican model: sabotage government services, deny support when it’s needed most, and then offer hollow praise while their constituents suffer. If this disaster had struck under a Democratic administration, not only would individual aid have likely been fast-tracked, but GOP officials would be on Fox News screaming about how the government isn’t doing enough.
It’s a grim pattern we’ve seen before. When Hurricane Helene devastated parts of North Carolina and Arkansas, Republican-led states that also overwhelmingly voted for Trump found themselves left out in the cold. Promises of aid came late or not at all, while FEMA operated like a hollow shell of what it used to be.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer: Under Democratic leadership, federal aid is mobilized to help working families rebuild and recover. Under Trump, it’s a reward system—only for those who flatter him, who serve his image, and who don’t ask for too much.
If Vice President Kamala Harris had delivered a $100 million relief package to West Virginia, some of these same officials would have denounced her as a socialist and turned it into a culture war issue. That’s the level of irrational partisanship we’re dealing with.
So here we are. West Virginians need help. Their government isn’t giving it. Their leaders won’t fight for it. And they voted for it.
Elections have consequences. Sadly, this is one of them.
