Impending Shutdown Jeopardizes $100 Billion in Disaster Aid
For weeks, the White House has urged Congress to approve $100 billion in disaster relief funding to replenish depleted resources and aid communities devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other severe weather events.
This funding was a key component of a bipartisan spending agreement that collapsed on Wednesday. The deal’s failure followed a series of social media posts from Elon Musk criticizing the agreement and President-elect Donald Trump’s demand to renegotiate, specifically targeting the national debt limit. This setback represents a significant defeat for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had brokered a deal to avert a government shutdown before Christmas, only to see it undermined at the eleventh hour by his party’s leader and the world’s wealthiest individual.
Lawmakers are now racing against time to forge a new agreement before the government’s midnight Friday deadline, triggering a shutdown of all non-essential services.
A shutdown would result in hundreds of thousands of federal employees being furloughed without pay until a new spending plan is approved. National Parks might close, and food and environmental inspections could be delayed. While Social Security payments and Medicare would continue, many related services, including benefit verification and application processing, would be curtailed.
Musk and Trump’s actions have jeopardized the disaster relief funds, a provision with bipartisan support. Republican senators from hurricane-affected states, including Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, are adamant about securing this funding. Following Trump and Musk’s actions, Senator Tedd Budd of North Carolina declared on X that there would be no stopgap funding bill without disaster relief for Western North Carolina.
The White House is blaming Republicans for obstructing disaster relief and other essential spending. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated Wednesday night that Republicans must cease politicizing the bipartisan agreement, warning of harm to American workers and national instability. She accused President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance of ordering the government shutdown, thereby undermining disaster recovery efforts, as well as harming farmers, ranchers, and community health centers.
The last federal government shutdown, during Trump’s first term, lasted five weeks—the longest in U.S. history—resulting in approximately $3 billion in economic losses, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Republican strategist and pollster Whit Ayres notes that the 2013 government shutdown negatively impacted the GOP’s approval ratings, taking a full year to recover. He suggests that Republicans risk similar damage if they fail to prevent another shutdown.
For months, Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, has been advocating for a standalone disaster relief package. In a November communication to lawmakers, she highlighted the two-year absence of comprehensive disaster funding from Congress. Additional funding is crucial for recovery efforts in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, severely impacted by Hurricane Helene—the deadliest U.S. mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005—and Florida’s subsequent Hurricane Milton. Other affected areas requiring funds include Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Mexico, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
The requested $100 billion includes approximately $29 billion to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster relief fund for immediate recovery efforts such as debris removal, infrastructure repair, and financial aid for displaced individuals. Another $21 billion was earmarked for farmers facing crop and livestock losses. Remaining funds were allocated for highway and bridge repairs, housing assistance, and low-interest loans for small businesses. Without congressional action, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program will soon be depleted, potentially impacting employment in storm-ravaged communities.
When efforts to pass a separate bill failed, lawmakers attempted to include the disaster funding in a broader spending bill that ultimately failed. This bill would have maintained largely level federal spending through March, when President Trump assumes office.
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