From E&E News: FEMA Canceled $18 B in Disaster Payments.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/fema-canceled-11b-in-disaster-payments-to-states/

The unannounced move came after President Donald Trump threatened to reduce FEMA aid, jarring emergency management professionals.

“The Trump administration canceled $11 billion in disaster payments to states in an unprecedented move that could signal a slowdown in the flow of federal funding after extreme weather events.

The unannounced move was revealed in a Sept. 15 government report showing that the Federal Emergency Management Agency withheld $10.9 billion it had planned to give 45 states in the final two months of the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The withheld money, which hasn’t been previously reported, was to reimburse the states for emergency costs related to the pandemic.

FEMA said it “shifted to fiscal year 2026” the planned reimbursements, the report noted in small print, marking the government’s only known acknowledgment that it had delayed the payments. The report does not indicate when the money would be paid, raising concern among emergency management groups about the effect the move could have on state budgets and whether it was a sign of President Donald Trump’s threat to reduce disaster aid to states.”