Cornyn blocks confirmation for more disaster aid
WASHINGTON — Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is holding up the confirmation of a controversial White House budget official to ensure more disaster relief for Texas, according a senior aide in his office.
The move has angered Christian conservatives who support the nomination of Russell Vought to be Mick Mulvaney’s right hand man at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Vought, a conservative activist, was recently criticized by Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for his views that Muslims have a “deficient theology” and “stand condemned” because they do not accept Jesus Christ as the son of God.
FreedomWorks Vice President of Advocacy Noah Wall released a statement Friday attacking Cornyn, accusing him of “putting his earmarks before the fiscally conservative Trump nominee.”
A Cornyn aide said the hold — an unusual Senate maneuver — is only to ensure that Mulvaney comes through with the money.
“Senator Cornyn has no concerns with this nominee personally and has been supportive of him to date,” said the aide, speaking on background. “However, promises were made from OMB to fully support Texans as they continue to recover from Hurricane Harvey and he’s going to make sure those promises are kept.”
Cornyn himself confirmed the hold, which he put in place earlier in the week, in a tweet Friday responding to a report in the online news site Axios, which first reported the hardball move.
“Solely to ensure the next #Harvey aid request from OMB will satisfy Texas’s needs IDed by @GovAbbott @tedcruz & me...” Cornyn wrote.
Senate rules grant all sena-
tors wide latitude in placing holds on presidential nominees. As the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, Cornyn also has considerable influence over the floor schedule.
The Cornyn aide said Trump and Mulvaney were made aware of Cornyn’s hold, which he will drop when he’s sure the next aid package will satisfy Texas’s needs.
Congress to consider The dustup came to light a day after Trump agreed to a new storm relief package with money earmarked specifically for people hit by Hurricane Harvey. The unspecified sum is expected to come before Congress in November, meaning Vought’s nomination might have to wait another month.
The money Texas is seeking would be in addition to $36.5 billion in general disaster aid that the Senate was poised to approve next week for Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and other areas hit by natural disasters.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas lawmakers in Washington signed a letter earlier this month seeking $18.7 billion in funding specifically for relief and recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey.
Cornyn said he met Thursday with Trump and Mulvaney and obtained a “commitment” for additional aid aimed at Texas. He did not mention any conditions tied to Vought’s confirmation.
Axios said it was not clear how Cornyn phrased his demand, but that “his message has been heard loud and clear by top Trump administration officials.”
Abbott’s accusation
The pending disaster aid package was approved by the House last week after Abbott accused the Texas delegation of getting “rolled” by not securing more money specifically for the victims of Harvey, which struck the Gulf Coast in August, before subsequent hurricanes that hit Florida, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Texas lawmakers said that though the bill provided money for all the areas hit by natural disasters, including the California wildfires, at least $15 billion could be claimed by Texans, who were the first to be hit and file claims through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Abbott also was assured by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy last week that Congress would soon pony up more money specifically for Texas, where damages are expected to top $100 billion.
So far, the state has benefited mainly from a $15.25 billion emergency appropriation that Congress approved in September.
Cornyn and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also praised Friday’s announcement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that they are allocating an additional $57.8 million to help Texas recover from Hurricane Harvey.
Keeping pressure on
The new grant is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery Program. Combined with grants already allocated to Texas from disasters that occurred in 2015 and 2016, HUD’s support of longterm disaster recovery in the Lone Star State now totals more than $371 million.
Briefing Texas reporters Thursday, Cornyn said it is important for the Texas delegation — the largest Republican delegation in Congress — to keep up the pressure.
“I don’t want the federal government to kick the can down the road, because as time goes by there are other competing demands, as we have seen with other hurricanes and natural disasters,” Cornyn said. “I don’t want people to forget about Hurricane Harvey and the state of Texas.”