Disaster aid bill again blocked in House by GOP conservative

WASHINGTON (AP) — A second conservative Republican on today blocked another attempt to pass a long-overdue $19 billion disaster aid bill, delaying again a top priority for some of President Donald Trump's most loyal allies on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said if Democratic leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi thought the measure was so important, they should have kept the House in session in Washington late last week to slate an up-or-down roll call vote.

"If the speaker of this House thought that this was must-pass legislation, the speaker ... should have called a vote on this bill before sending every member of Congress on recess for 10 days," Massie said as he blocked the measure.

"You can't have bills passed in Congress with nobody voting on them," Massie said. "That is the definition of the swamp, and that's what people resent about this place."

Massie's move earned swift rebukes from top Democrats. Sanford Bishop of Georgia said his agricultural district was but one part of the country suffering from hurricane damage and that aid won't arrive until well after the start of planting season. "Many will not be able to plant this year," Bishop said. Hurricane Michael struck Georgia in the middle of last fall's harvest season.

Another conservative, Texas freshman GOP Rep. Chip Roy, had blocked an earlier attempt Friday to pass the measure under fast-track rules, but Democrats tried again today. Bishop flew to Washington from Georgia to request the House pass the popular measure under fast-track procedures that permitted any individual lawmakers to block the bill.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, criticized his GOP colleagues for holding up the disaster bill, calling them "clowns" in a tweet.

Eventual passage of the bill, supported by Trump and top leaders in Congress, is a foregone conclusion. Trying again today was a political freebie for Democrats, who went on the attack right after the vote.