WASHINGTON (AP) – A fight between President Donald Trump and Democrats over hurricane relief for Puerto Rico is imperiling a widely backed disaster aid bill that’s a top priority for some of the president’s Southern GOP allies.
The amount of money in dispute is relatively small, but Trump feels antipathy toward Puerto Rico’s government and Senate Republicans are taking a hard line – for now – in denying Democratic demands for more aid for the U.S. territory, which was devastated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.
Democrats are poised to block the GOP bill in a showdown Senate vote on Monday afternoon. It’s a risky move, but top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York appears confident that a successful filibuster won’t kill the bill outright, but drive Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell toward compromise.
Trump weighed in on Twitter Monday to preemptively attack Democrats for blocking the measure.
“Democrats should stop fighting Sen. David Perdue’s disaster relief bill. They are blocking funding and relief for our great farmers and rural America!” Trump tweeted.