Administration freezes FEMA long-term recovery payments amid DHS shutdown, Democrats say funds remain

The Trump administration announced this week it was pausing disaster aid for long-term recovery projects as the Department of Homeland Security entered a second week without funding, prompting sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers who say the agency could keep paying from existing funds.

“They’re just being mean. They have significant resources available to them,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in an interview with NOTUS. Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana called the move “counterproductive” and “ridiculous,” saying the administration was trying to “exact pain from the American people in cases where they don’t have to,” also in remarks to NOTUS.

After disasters, states request approval from FEMA to begin projects such as rebuilding sewers, roads and schools and later seek reimbursement from the agency’s Disaster Relief Fund. A source familiar with the matter told NOTUS that FEMA informed Congress the fund had a balance of $9.6 billion as of Feb. 19. Politico reported that the agency has typically tightened spending when the fund dropped to about $3 billion.

A former senior FEMA official told NOTUS that administrations sometimes scale back reimbursements as a negotiating tool but that pausing standard public assistance reimbursements is uncommon unless the fund is nearly exhausted. The official warned that delays in reimbursements could create major challenges for local governments and contractors if they persist, the official told NOTUS.

FEMA defended its actions in a statement to NOTUS, saying the agency “delivered more than $5 billion in funding for recovery projects in the past week” and contending the Disaster Relief Fund has been “rapidly depleted.” The spokesperson added that FEMA needs funding restored and accused Democrats of “playing political games with FEMA’s budget.” State and congressional officials expressed concern about local impacts. Danielle Silva, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told NOTUS that the agency has been nonresponsive about the state’s approved recovery projects. Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Sam Graves and Rep. Tom Cole, said they would review the agency’s position and noted the freeze would have impacts on states, according to interviews with NOTUS.

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