The U.S. Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sign at Federal Center Plaza in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 15, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
The Trump administration spent more than $5 billion of FEMA disaster relief funding in just one week while it pushed Democrats to end the government shutdown, according to reports Friday.
The administration aimed to use the "dwindling aid" as a bargaining move to pressure Democratic lawmakers to capitulate on Department of Homeland Security funding negotiations, according to Politico.
The spending includes more than half of the balance of the United States' total funding for recovery projects and a FEMA spokesperson said that some of the funding went to disasters “that happened more than 15 years ago” and accused Democrats of "playing political games," Politico reported. The spokesperson said there could be “dire consequences” as the funding “is being rapidly depleted.”
"The withdrawal substantially shrinks cash in the disaster coffer that held $9.6 billion as of last week and appears to contradict Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s weekend announcement that FEMA 'is scaling back to bare-minimum, life-saving operations only,'" according to Politico.
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