President Donald Trump rejected $227 million in disaster aid requests from four Democrat-led states hit by February's record blizzard, drawing accusations of political favoritism after he approved more than $846 million for Republican-led states two days earlier.

Figures from the Federal Emergency Management Agency show Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island each cleared the damage threshold for a major disaster declaration. Their governors are moving to appeal.

Trump signed off on the denials July 2, the same day his administration approved relief for nine GOP-leaning states, Rhode Island's congressional delegation said in a letter demanding he reverse course.

The Feb. 22-23 blizzard dumped 37.9 inches of snow in a 24-hour period in Rhode Island, produced 74 mph wind gusts, led to the deaths of two people, and knocked out power to tens of thousands, according to the delegation's letter.

FEMA documented $45 million in damage in Massachusetts, $84.4 million in New Jersey, $79 million in New York, and $19 million in Rhode Island, according to state officials and Politico reporting.

Each figure exceeded the federal threshold that would trigger aid; New Jersey's threshold is roughly $18.5 million, and Rhode Island's documented damage was about 10 times its qualifying threshold.

In a statement, FEMA said that it had "returned to a more rigorous review process" and that snowstorm damage must be "genuinely extraordinary" to qualify, adding that "the East Coast is generally expected to manage major snowstorms independently."

Congressional appropriators pushed back on that reasoning in January, when a bipartisan spending measure affirmed that "snowstorms shall be eligible for Federal relief."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose statement called the denial a betrayal of her state, said she would appeal.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also plans to appeal, a spokesperson for the state's emergency management agency told reporters, and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said he would challenge the decision.

The White House rejected the charges of political favoritism.

Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement published by Politico that "there is no politicization to the President's decisions on disaster relief" and that Trump reviews requests more thoroughly than his predecessors.

But Politico's own reporting has found that Trump approved 23% of disaster requests this term from states whose governor and two senators are Democrats, compared with 89% from states with Republicans in those positions.

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and 15 other Senate Democrats have demanded White House documents on how the decisions are made.

Trump has moved throughout his current term to shrink FEMA's scope.

In May, a review council he appointed recommended raising the per-capita damage threshold that states must meet to qualify for aid.

His June 30 approvals, announced in a series of Truth Social posts, credited GOP lawmakers and endorsed candidates.

Regarding his approval of $22.6 million for Wisconsin, Trump named Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., his endorsed candidate for governor, and omitted Gov. Tony Evers, the Democrat who had filed the request.