Elon Musk and President Trump’s Next Goal: Steal from Families Recovering from Recent Storms and Natural Disasters

*NEW FACT SHEET*: Disaster Relief Funds Frozen in Each State

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk and President Trump are making life harder for middle-class families by freezing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds they desperately need following flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and other major disasters. They have already illegally frozen $10 billion in disaster aid, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told President Trump in a cabinet meeting: “We’re going to eliminate FEMA.” Additionally, on Friday, the Trump administration canceled FEMA’s lifesaving Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program making their end goal crystal clear: destroy FEMA and leave States and territories on their own for the next disaster.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro released a new Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) fact sheet detailing how much funding has flowed to each state through this program over the last 20 years and how much is currently unlawfully frozen. 

“We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, and Elon Musk and President Trump are making it worse. Instead of providing people with the disaster relief they were promised, Elon Musk and President Trump are threatening to steal those funds to cover their tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations,” said Ranking Member DeLauro. “As floods, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and other major disasters increase in frequency and severity, families across the country must be able to count on their government to help them recover should a disaster strike their neighborhood. In my state of Connecticut, over the last 20 years, more than $2 billion in FEMA funds have helped countless people rebuild their lives after devasting storms. I will not let Elon Musk, President Trump, or Secretary Noem steal from people simply trying to make their lives whole again. Any attempts to do so would be illegal and hurt communities across the country who have already lost everything.”

This new Disaster Relief Fund fact sheet can be found here. 

Ranking Member DeLauro and other House Committee leaders recently sent a letter to Secretary Noem and issued a statement on the Trump Administration’s plans to destroy FEMA.

###