WA Gov. Ferguson asks Trump for $21M to help flood victims

Gov. Bob Ferguson on Wednesday requested the Trump administration approve a major disaster declaration to open up federal funding in response to the historic flooding that beset the state last month. 

State officials will next await word from President Donald Trump, who has declined to approve such declarations in some cases, especially in Democrat-led states. Ferguson and Trump clashed on the state’s request related to the 2024 bomb cyclone. Trump previously approved a federal emergency declaration, allowing federal resources to help during the flooding in December.

Ferguson requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency open up over $21 million in federal assistance to help individuals affected by the flooding. The money is meant to help repair their homes or help them find stable housing, but it won’t make them whole, the governor cautioned.

An ask for federal money for infrastructure repairs and work to prepare for future storms will come from the state before Feb. 18, as it’s still unclear exactly how much damage was done. 

The state Department of Transportation recently told lawmakers that the heavy flooding inflicted at least $40 million to $50 million of damage on the state’s highways. U.S. 2 was hit the hardest as the east-west crossing was closed for over two weeks along a nearly 50-mile stretch between Skykomish and Leavenworth. The state has since reopened the highway on both sides of Stevens Pass for limited travel with temporary fixes. Permanent repairs will take months.

The record-breaking flooding left over 100,000 Washingtonians under evacuation orders and nearly 4,000 homes damaged, according to the governor. Almost 400 people needed to be rescued. One person died. Thirty-three rivers reached flood stage, and three broke records, though not quite to the catastrophic level some feared.

“This historic disaster is of such severity and magnitude that effective recovery exceeds the capability of the state and local governments in impacted areas, requiring supplemental federal assistance to recover from this disaster,” Ferguson wrote in his letter to Trump.

Ferguson expects the state’s congressional delegation and leaders of the Democratic and Republican caucuses in both chambers of the Legislature to send letters supporting his request. 

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s office said she’s gathering signatures for a support letter to be sent Thursday, and hopes the state’s Republican members of Congress, Reps. Dan Newhouse and Michael Baumgartner, will sign it. 

“I will continue doing everything I can to make sure that Washington state gets the federal funding we need to recover from this disaster,” Murray said at an event Tuesday at the King County Emergency Operations Center.

The full delegation, including Newhouse and Baumgartner, sent a letter in December urging the president to sign the initial emergency declaration.

The White House and FEMA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Ferguson’s entreaty. The timeline for a decision from the president is unclear.

The state has provided nearly $1 million in state aid to roughly 2,600 households, according to the governor’s office.

The request for federal aid for individuals, which stretches over 100 pages, is focused on Chelan, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties, as well as 15 tribal nations.

If Trump approves Ferguson’s plea, the next step for residents will be applying for funding from FEMA. The approval would also allow homeowners, renters, business owners and nonprofits to apply for low-interest loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“Federal assistance is needed to help Washington communities recover from December’s devastating floods,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, said in a statement. “The Administration was quick to respond to our emergency request. I hope they will continue to be supportive as our families and small businesses work to build back.”

These types of disaster declarations have usually been bipartisan, but that has changed in Trump’s second term. Last year, the Trump administration twice denied without explanation Washington’s request for $34 million in the aftermath of the November 2024 bomb cyclone.

This story has been updated.