Senate Republicans from areas affected by hurricanes and other storms are seeking relief from emergency spending bills that are suddenly in disarray after President-elect Trump harshly criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana)'s plan. It warns those involved in the negotiations not to strip away disaster funds.
Several Republican senators have indicated they would hold up any bill that does not include more than $100 billion in funding to support recovery efforts after Hurricanes Helen and Milton and other natural disasters, a continuing resolution known as a CR. He felt that it was necessary to include this in the .
“Yeah, you have to do disaster relief. You can't just go home and play like nothing happened,” Graham said. “If you think disaster relief is a big deal, come to where I live and see what happened in my state, North Carolina and Georgia.”
“It's time for government,” Graham continued, noting that some individuals and families in some of these states “lost everything.” “There are generations of families whose entire families have been wiped out. This is an absolute moral obligation to put money into the system to help these people get back on their feet.”
President Trump on Wednesday urged lawmakers to address the debt ceiling as a stopgap measure, severely disrupting spending talks. This was done despite the fact that the debt ceiling is not scheduled to be raised until the summer and was not included in the full negotiation process on this current bill.
“Republicans want to help farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a stopgap funding bill with no aid from Democrats. and raising the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” Trump wrote.
The statement left unclear exactly what would happen to the disaster relief and farmer assistance included in the bill. Both men expressed support for these provisions, but also called for a clean funding bill.
However, lawmakers in the disaster-stricken areas said they would hold off on any bill that does not include disaster funding.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-Louisiana) told reporters he spoke by phone with Vice President-elect Vance about the aid, which is part of the bill negotiated by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). . Vance and Tillis traveled to parts of western North Carolina earlier this month to assess the damage.
“I feel very strongly that if this bill doesn’t cause disaster, I’m going to do whatever I can to keep us here until it does,” Tillis said. “He understands the need to follow up on the disaster situation on the ground. We cannot let months pass. If we do a CR and leave the city, we will effectively do so, but this is not acceptable. No.”
Sen. Ted Budd (RN.C.) also posted on X that CR should not exist “without disaster relief for Western North Carolina.”
Negotiations over raising the debt ceiling typically take place over several months, so whether the debt ceiling will actually be included in the continuing resolution is a big question mark. President Trump's call came two days before federal funding expires and a week before Christmas.
But Republicans are skeptical it will work.
“I have no problem doing that. I don't see why Sen. Schumer would accept it,” Tillis said. “It looks like June. [for the debt ceiling]So you don't have to feel the pressure of an impending default to get people. [to raise it]”
Trump's move effectively nullified Johnson's bill. The bill was more than 1,500 pages long and contained numerous concessions to Democrats that infuriated conservatives, rank-and-file Republicans and Elon Musk.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) predicted that a clean stopgap package would likely be the way out of the mess lawmakers are in. However, he argued that disaster relief would be a “huge issue” for many members.
“'That's a lot of money. I certainly support disaster relief, and I support farmers,'” Cornyn said. “But this is the art of the possible. What can we pass? And we don't have much time.”
