Disaster relief fund threatened as partial shutdown takes hold

Aidan Quigley, CQ-Roll Call on Feb 20, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The federal government’s main disaster relief fund is dwindling as the partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department nears the end of its first full week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to report that its disaster relief fund totals $9.6 billion, a source familiar with the matter said Thursday night.

That is down from the roughly $30 billion balance that existed as of Dec. 31, according to FEMA’s Feb. 3 report to Congress. But since the partial shutdown that began Feb. 14, FEMA lost access to $22.5 billion that had been provided on a temporary basis in a Homeland Security continuing resolution that expired last week.

Democrats refused to back another extension of Homeland Security funding last week as they push for an overhaul of immigration enforcement practices after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents last month.

There’s been no signs of significant movement toward a bipartisan immigration deal this week, either. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the most recent offer from Democrats was “very unserious,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said there has been no “high-level effort” from Republicans.

While the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agencies have billions of dollars in funding from the 2025 budget reconciliation law, other agencies in the department, like FEMA and the Transportation Security Administration, face more immediate impacts.

Until an immigration deal is reached that would unlock a full-year Homeland Security bill, FEMA has access to just the $9.6 billion remaining in its fund balance, with major disaster responses on the agency’s agenda. That is roughly enough money, in normal times, to cover relief efforts in the first 60 to 90 days of a major disaster declaration, according to the source’s estimate.

Winter Storm Fern, in late January, brought significant ice and snow to much of the southern and eastern United States. The agency is also responding to the sewer spill into the Potomac River last month, as well as wildfires in Oklahoma.

Further, at least $17 billion in disaster aid has been held up for additional review by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, The New York Times reported last month, citing internal FEMA documents. Noem has insisted on personally approving all expenses in her department over $100,000.

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—John T. Bennett contributed to this report.