FORT COLLINS, COLO. — President Donald Trump denied Colorado Governor Jared Polis's appeal for a major disaster declaration covering wildfires and flooding that struck the state last year. The denial upheld an earlier rejection issued late last year, marking the second time Trump has turned down the state's request.

Polis had sought the declaration for wildfires that scorched 240 square miles in western Colorado and for floods that inundated mountain communities in the southern part of the state. The governor requested FEMA public assistance, which enables communities to get reimbursed for debris cleanup and infrastructure rebuilding, as well as hazard-mitigation funding, which helps states build back with more resilience.

FEMA acting administrator Karen S. Evans told Polis in letters that Trump upheld the decision to deny the requests on appeal after a thorough review. The letters did not explain the denials in detail.

"These disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure, and local economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs alone," Polis said. In December, when Trump first rejected the requests, the governor accused the president of playing "political games" with the disaster declarations.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the administration responds to each disaster aid request with great care and consideration to ensure federal revenue is used appropriately and efficiently to supplement, but not substitute, states' obligation to respond to disasters. "President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any administration has before him," she said.

While FEMA assesses damage and uses a specific formula to analyze the possible impact on states and local jurisdictions, disaster declarations are ultimately at the president's discretion. Trump has approved major disaster aid requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 presidential election at about twice the rate he has approved requests from states that voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Nearly 84% of requests from Trump-voting states have been approved in his second term, compared with about 42% from states that voted for Harris.

Urban Institute senior fellow Andrew Rumbach said the sample size of about 60 disaster aid requests during Trump's second term is small and that he was uncertain whether politics clearly came into play. "These are definitely questions worth asking, but I haven't reached a conclusion that there's clear political bias going on here," Rumbach said. "That's why it's really important that FEMA and DHS be as transparent as possible about how they're making these decisions," he added.

Trump approved major disaster declaration requests for at least seven states last week after being briefed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Mullin had vowed to clear out some of the backlog of disaster aid requests before the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins on June 1.