Medicaid under threat Republicans look for cuts

Donald Trump has suggested paring back or even dismantling the federal response to major disasters, a move that would cut off aid that has largely helped support Republican-leaning states that voted for him in last year's US presidential election.

- Oliver Milman Dharna Noor

Trump said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) had "not done their job for the last four years" and that there would be "a whole big discussion very shortly, because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems".

In an interview with Fox News, the US president said of Fema "all it does is complicate everything" and even states that resoundingly backed him, such as Oklahoma, should primarily be left to deal with the aftermath of storms, floods and fires.

"I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it," Trump said. "And then the federal government can help them out with the money. Fema is getting in the way of everything."

Shifting the burden of disaster aid to the states, an idea outlined by the rightwing Project 2025 manifesto before the election, would hit Republican-leaning states hardest, federal spending figures suggest.

Since 2015, states that voted for Trump last year have received $31bn (£25bn) in assistance from Fema, with storm-prone Florida, Texas and Louisiana leading the way, compared with just $7bn for states that voted Democratic. US territories have been able to get $26bn in Fema funding, a figure Republicans are reportedly prepared to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Donald Trump's promised crackdown on immigration and to fund tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthy.