WASHINGTON — A Republican House member on Friday blocked final passage of a long-delayed disaster relief package, ensuring that communities and farmers ravaged by natural disasters will have to wait for the measure to reach President Trump’s desk. Representative Chip Roy, a freshman from Texas and former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz, used the power of a single lawmaker to object to a procedural vote that would have allowed the Senate-approved $19.1 billion package to pass through the House without the full chamber present. Under congressional rules, passage would have to be unanimous, since most lawmakers left Washington on Thursday for a weeklong recess. The disaster relief vote may have to wait until the House returns in the first week of June, although House leaders could try again next week. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the “last-minute sabotage” an “act of staggering political cynicism.”The objection marks another setback for the monthslong effort to reach a consensus on the package, whose delay has left farmers, military bases and communities struggling to recover from hurricanes, wildfires and floods over the last two years.

Source: New York Times May 24, 2019 15:10 UTC