President Trump on Friday signed a bipartisan spending package that would provide disaster aid to victims of Hurricane Harvey, while raising the debt ceiling and funding the government for three months.
The package was the result of a deal Trump made this week with Democratic leaders in Congress. Republicans had been seeking to raise the debt limit past the 2018 elections, or at least for the next six months.
The deal, which passed the House earlier Friday, contains more than $15 billion in disaster recovery aid for communities in Texas and Louisiana affected by Harvey
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House members approved the package 316-90, and the Senate passed it 80-17 the day before. All no votes in both chambers came from Republicans.
The surprise deal blindsided Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), both of whom have found themselves the subject of Trump’s ire in recent months over his frustration with their inability to move his agenda through Congress quickly.
Democrats hope — and Republicans fear — that the new December deadlines will give the minority more leverage to make demands.
The disaster aid includes $7.4 billion for disaster relief, $7.4 billion in emergency funds for Community Development Block Grants and $450 million for the Small Business Administration disaster loan program.