Sign the petition to stand with Democrats and tell Trump: An agreement is an agreement. Federal aid to disaster-stricken areas must remain in the bill to keep the government open.

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

On the evening of December 16, Republicans and Democrats in Congress negotiated a a deal to fund the government through March 14. However, during the afternoon of December 18, Donald Trump weighed in on the matter and demanded an entirely different deal. Specifically, he demanded that the $100 billion in disaster aid, along with other spending provisions, be removed from the bill, and that an increase to the debt ceiling should be tacked on.

To be honest, I believe increasing the debt ceiling is fine. The debt ceiling should not even exist, really. There should not be a mechanism for the full faith and credit of the United States government to be held hostage. It would be fine to see that raised, or even done away with entirely. I have actually advocated for this for years because Republicans regularly threaten to tank the economy by not raising the debt ceiling.

However, removing the $100 billion in federal aid for areas hard hit by natural disasters in is offensive and ridiculous. Areas like North Carolina need help now, not a few weeks or months from now. The bill to fund the government must include disaster relief.

This is a fight we can win. in order for the original deal to pass, it required Democratic votes in both the House (because of narrow Republican majorities and GOP disunity) and the Senate (because Democrats still control the Senate, and also because of the filibuster). As such, it is heartening to see that the Democratic leaders in both chambers, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, have effectively said to Trump "no way, a deal is a deal" (see here for Jeffries's statement, and see here for Schumer's).

Additionally, according to a report from Politico, quite a few Republicans are balking at the demand to remove disaster aid and other spending provisions from the deal. This includes both a lot of Republicans from states and districts who were recently ravaged by natural disasters, and also Republicans who are deeply skeptical of reopening negotiations on a bill on which it took weeks for lawmakers to reach an agreement.

With some Republicans already openly defying him, Trump may have overplayed his hand on this one. We can stop his demands to remove disaster aid from the bill, because a majority of members in both branches of Congress are already openly opposing him on this one. Let's offer our support both to our fellow Americans in disaster-ravaged areas, and to Democratic leaders for standing up and telling Trump "no way, a deal is a deal."

Please add your name to my petition standing with Democratic leaders and telling Trump: An agreement is an agreement. Federal aide for disaster stricken areas must remain in the bill to keep the government open.

As one of his constituents, I will deliver the signatures to Sen. Schumer's office via email.
Sponsored by

To: Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
From: [Your Name]

Thank you for standing up to Donald Trump and sticking to the original, bipartisan agreement to fund the government and provide disaster relief to areas hard hit by natural disasters. We stand with you in your fight to make sure that disaster relief remains in the bill.