Democrats say the Trump administration is sabotaging a key Federal Emergency Management Agency fund, which could keep operating during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, in order to raise the shutdown’s stakes.
The lapse in funding is in its second week, with Democrats and Republicans still in a stalemate regarding new guidelines for federal immigration officers. But that’s left FEMA, which is part of DHS, without funding as well. And earlier this week, the administration announced it was freezing disaster aid for long-term recovery projects. The decision has taken heat from Democrats and experts who say there is still money in the Disaster Relief Fund that could pay for these projects.
“That’s just another bonehead decision that Kristi Noem has done,” Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, told NOTUS. “Generally, there has always been an exception with ongoing disasters. They’re just being mean. They have significant resources available to them. They can make the adjustment if they want to.”