House Republicans and Trump discuss tying California wildfire aid to debt ceiling

[mystery-ak]

 House Republicans and Trump discuss tying California wildfire aid to debt ceiling

The current California fires could become the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

By Meredith Lee Hill
01/13/2025 05:59 AM EST

A group of House Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump talked about tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase Sunday night, as the fires spreading across huge swaths of Los Angeles are estimated to become one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

Of the nearly two dozen House Republicans who attended the Sunday dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where this option was discussed, several are caucus leaders and appropriators with major influence in upcoming budget reconciliation and government funding negotiations.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was not at the dinner, and no final decisions were made about the way forward, according to two people with direct knowledge of the private meeting, who were granted anonymity to discuss it.

Yet addressing the looming debt cliff will be one of Johnson’s biggest challenges in the coming months, especially as Trump continues to agitate for lawmakers to address it quickly. The Sunday night discussions prove Republicans are desperately looking for a plan before the nation is due to exhaust its borrowing authority in June — though Democrats and some Republicans are sure to balk at the prospect of linking disaster relief dollars to a politically charged exercise like extending the debt limit.

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https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/13/house-republicans-trump-wildfire-aid-00197766

[DefiantMassRINO]

That California disaster aid needs to be under a forensic accounting microscope to prevent money from walking off to Dem politicians and causes.

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1878890549304078601

[libertybele]

That California disaster aid needs to be under a forensic accounting microscope to prevent money from walking off to Dem politicians and causes.

Absolutely agree; a very strict accounting.

[The_Reader_David]

Absolutely agree; a very strict accounting.

That, but if it's tied to anything it shouldn't be the debt ceiling, it should be the repeal of California's idiotic laws and LA's idiotic ordinances that made this inevitable by making grazing, logging and controlled-burns impossible and preventing water projects that would have helped from going forward.

[berdie]

That, but if it's tied to anything it shouldn't be the debt ceiling, it should be the repeal of California's idiotic laws and LA's idiotic ordinances that made this inevitable by making grazing, logging and controlled-burns impossible and preventing water projects that would have helped from going forward.

Totally agree. But do the Feds have that authority?

[The_Reader_David]

Totally agree. But do the Feds have that authority?

Congress has been pushing states to do things by conditioning Federal funding on the state adopting certain laws for decades now, the most notable example being a 21 year old drinking age as a condition for receiving Federal highway funds.  I'm not sure about the Constitutionality of it in that case, but surely Congress can condition giving a tranche of money to one of the states on the state doing something.  If Californians really want their stupid laws and ordinances that much, they can tax each other and leave the rest of us out of it.

[berdie]

Congress has been pushing states to do things by conditioning Federal funding on the state adopting certain laws for decades now, the most notable example being a 21 year old drinking age as a condition for receiving Federal highway funds.  I'm not sure about the Constitutionality of it in that case, but surely Congress can condition giving a tranche of money to one of the states on the state doing something.  If Californians really want their stupid laws and ordinances that much, they can tax each other and leave the rest of us out of it.

Good point! I hadn't thought of the precedence.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Instead, make it no new money spent unless finding the money from existing budget items if one wishes to fund new projectsd.

That is real budgeting compared to the debt ceiling which has been unsuccessful to reign in spending since it was created.

[Hoodat]

Did not Congress just pass a $110 billion disaster relief bill just three weeks ago?

[verga]

Instead, make it no new money spent unless finding the money from existing budget items if one wishes to fund new projectsd.

All that money and the receipts were tragically lost in a boating accident.

[GtHawk]

All that money and the receipts were tragically lost in a boating accident.

Did you mean a bloating accident?