The White House is preparing a $6 billion request for Harvey aid

Flooded homes in Houston
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

President Trump is expected to ask Congress as early as Friday for $5.95 billion in initial emergency aid to deal with the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, with $5.5 billion going to the depleted FEMA-administered Disaster Relief Fund and another $450 million to the Small Business Administration's Disaster Loan Program. "No final decisions about the funding amount have been made, and conversations remained fluid Thursday evening," The Washington Post reports, though Axios says White House budget director Mick Mulvaney is trying to drum up support in Congress.

Harvey is presumed to be one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history. As of Thursday morning, more than 311,000 Texans had applied for federal disaster relief, and at least $530 million has been approved, according to Vice President Mike Pence. The White House says some 100,000 houses were destroyed by Harvey. The Trump administration and Congress have not decided whether to push for the funding separately or attach it to must-pass legislation like raising the debt ceiling.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.