Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders are reportedly discussing plans to connect relief funds for victims of the California wildfires to a plan to raise the federal debt ceiling. If the party goes through with this strategy, it would politicize the response to one of the worst natural disasters in recent history.
Politico reports that the idea was discussed on Sunday during a dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property during a meeting between Trump and Republican congressional caucus leaders and appropriators “with major influence.”
The debt ceiling is the limit set by Congress on how much money the federal government can borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its financial obligations. Trump attempted to pressure Congress into eliminating the ceiling in December when a congressional spending bill was being debated but the provision was not included. Senate Majority Leader John Thune recently said Trump is upset about it and is pressuring congressional Republicans to make it happen.
Republicans would likely need Democratic support to raise the limit since the party’s majority in the House is so small and many Republican members would not back the domestic spending Democrats would ask for in exchange for their backing.
But connecting the debt ceiling to fire relief would mean creating a hostage situation where desperate Americans would not receive federal help until a Republican legislative demand is met.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News that the fires could be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and the scope,” Newsom said.
Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles.
According to the county of Los Angeles, at least 24 people have died due to the fire and the death toll is expected to rise. More than 40,000 acres have burned and over 150,000 people have had to evacuate. Hundreds, if not thousands, of homes and businesses have been destroyed.
Republicans, led by Trump, have responded to the fires by leveling political attacks. Trump referred to Newsom as “Newscum” and made up a fake story that environmental regulations had led to water shortages hampering the fire response. Conservative media, like Fox News, has also offered more derisive than supportive comments. California has often provoked conservative ire since the state has long backed progressive policies and has voted for mostly Democrats for decades.
Tying California relief to debt ceiling demands echoes Trump’s approach to blue states when he was in the presidency. He and other Republicans attacked Democratic governors asking for federal help during the COVID-19 outbreak, and officials in his administration lobbied against helping those states during deployment of the COVID vaccine.
By contrast, President Joe Biden deployed federal assistance to Republican-voting states who were hit by hurricanes at the end of 2024 and lobbied Congress for aid for those regions.
Just days before he is inaugurated for a second term, Trump and Republicans are making clear that they intend to put partisanship ahead of uniting the country—even as catastrophic events unfold.
Donate now to support Southern California relief efforts.
