Speaker Mike Johnson Delays Disaster Aid Vote Despite Hurricane Helene’s Devastation
Photo: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
Despite the “deadly and devastating” impact of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has confirmed that Congress will not provide disaster aid until after November. According to Politico, Johnson’s trip to the state’s western region comes during a nearly five-week-long congressional recess, which some lawmakers from both parties are urging to cut short to address the urgent need for additional disaster relief funding.
In a report shared on X (formerly Twitter) early Sunday, Politico’s Olivia Beavers noted, “Speaker Mike Johnson will NOT be calling the House back early to vote on a disaster aid supplemental in the wake of the hurricane.” Johnson explained that the damages need to be “tabulated” before any supplemental aid is considered, suggesting that Congress is still “a ways away from that.”
The decision has sparked backlash, particularly as President Joe Biden emphasized the urgency of the situation in his recent “Letter to Congress on Disaster Needs” published Friday. Biden wrote: “Most urgently, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program will run out of funding in a matter of weeks and well before the Congress is planning to reconvene. I warned Congress of this potential shortfall even before Hurricane Helene landed on America’s shores. I requested more funding for SBA multiple times over the past several months, and most recently, my Administration underscored that request as you prepared a continuing resolution to fund the Government. Now the need is even more urgent.”
Even some conservative lawmakers, including Sen. Rick Scott (FL) and Rep. Ralph Norman (SC), have expressed their support for cutting the recess short to address the hurricane relief efforts. Axios reported that these right-wing figures are in favor of reconvening Congress to pass supplemental aid to help the affected communities.
In response to Beavers’ report, North Carolina Democratic congressional candidate Chuck Hubbard condemned Johnson’s stance, stating: “This is unacceptable and shameful! Republicans in Congress are failing Helene victims. Congress must act now to pass urgently needed disaster aid.”
The situation highlights the growing tensions within Congress as communities affected by Hurricane Helene wait for federal support. With the SBA’s disaster loan program on the brink of running out of funds and political pressure mounting, the delay in passing supplemental relief could have significant repercussions for those impacted by the storm. As calls from both parties intensify, the debate over reconvening Congress early underscores the urgent need for a bipartisan response to disaster recovery.
