Rhode Island's cities and towns spent the winter digging out from the most punishing blizzard in a generation, and now they may be left to pay for it alone. On July 6, Governor Dan McKee announced his administration will appeal the Trump administration's July 2 refusal to grant Rhode Island a federal Major Disaster Declaration tied to the record-breaking February storm — a denial that landed the same day the White House approved more than $846 million in disaster aid for nine Republican-leaning states.
The rejection came despite a joint FEMA-and-state damage assessment, submitted April 7, that validated more than $19 million in storm damage — an amount, according to a press release from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, that "greatly exceeds the threshold for a major disaster declaration." Had the declaration been approved, FEMA would have been obligated to reimburse a minimum of 75 percent of eligible costs. Instead, Rhode Island communities that already blew through their snow budgets are left waiting on a check the federal government has decided not to write.
"The Trump Administration's denial of Rhode Island's disaster declaration appears to be yet another case of the White House putting politics ahead of people," McKee said in a statement rebuking the decision. "Despite the significant documented damage and our state's compelling case for federal assistance, Rhode Island and our communities are being denied the support we deserve."
The storm McKee is describing was not a routine nor'easter. Between February 22-23, Rhode Island was buried under record snowfall — 37.9 inches at T.F. Green Airport, 37 inches in Cranston, 36.1 inches in Providence — with winds reaching up to 74 miles per hour, hitting the state, in the delegation's words, with the intensity of a Category 2 hurricane. Tens of thousands lost power. Two Rhode Islanders died, and the storm sent hundreds to emergency rooms. In Providence, the snow fell more than 10 inches deeper than the famed Blizzard of '78.
The fiscal wreckage arrived quickly. Providence spent roughly $3.8 million clearing the blizzard alone against a total winter snow-removal budget of $2.2 million; across the winter the city spent close to $7 million on snow response — more than the past three winters combined. "We've absorbed the cost of the blizzard and we didn't raise taxes to do it," Mayor Brett Smiley told NBC 10. Warwick entered the blizzard already $64,275 over its $371,000 snow budget; Westerly was nearly $72,000 above its $159,295 allocation before the storm even hit.
Rhode Island's four-member congressional delegation — Senators Jack Reed and Whitehouse and Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo — is urging the state to appeal within FEMA's 30-day window, which closes around August 1, and is demanding the agency explain in detailed writing why the request was denied. The Democrats contend the denial fits a partisan pattern, citing Urban Institute data showing that roughly 84 percent of disaster requests from states that voted for Trump in 2024 have been approved, compared to about 41 percent from states that voted for Kamala Harris.
They point, too, to New York, whose parallel blizzard-related request was denied the same day. "After months of waiting, President Trump today denied our request for a Major Disaster Declaration following the blizzard that pummeled New York City, Long Island and the Mid-Hudson in February of this year," Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said. Democratic governors in Colorado and Washington state saw earlier requests rejected as well — the latter despite $34 million in FEMA-documented damage.
The White House has offered no Rhode Island-specific explanation. A White House spokeswoman told ABC News only that "President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him," without addressing the state's denial or disputing the partisan-disparity data.
The state does not arrive at this fight without a history. Attorney General Peter Neronha has repeatedly sued the administration over FEMA funding, previously applauding a court order enforcing an injunction against a categorical freeze of federal funds to states. "This Administration has been holding hostage FEMA funds that are critical to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders," Neronha said in that separate matter.
Whether the appeal succeeds — and whether Rhode Island municipalities will ever be reimbursed — remains unresolved.