Intro

President Trump's rapid-fire spending cuts have affected communities all over the country–including strongholds of his supporters.

One of them is Rising Sun, Maryland. The town had won two FEMA grants designed to mitigate the effects of catastrophic flooding. And though the area voted overwhelmingly to support Trump's re-election, his administration has now cancelled the program that funded those grants.

Across the state in the Trump-voting town of Emmitsburg, Maryland, a similar scenario is playing out. The town is home to the National Fire Academy–a sort of national war college for training firefighters in America. In March, the Trump administration abruptly cancelled classes at the academy. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports that locals are concerned about how that will affect the town's economy–and emergency preparedness across the country.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy