Did Hurricane Milton just turn FEMA funding into a deciding issue in Florida’s federal elections?

Several members of Florida’s congressional delegation want Congress back in Washington to approve new funding for Hurricane Milton relief. That includes several lawmakers who last month voted against a budget deal to keep the government open.

That may be a sign of how the hurricane could impact the political climate in Florida ahead of the election just as storm surge has reshaped the state’s coast.

Lawmakers representing regions especially hurt by the storm, which made landfall Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, voiced a willingness, and in some cases an expressed desire, to return to Washington and approve extra funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Parkland Democrat and a former Florida Director of Emergency Management, co-led a Wednesday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson pressing the Republican leader to bring Representatives back to Washington and pass additional relief and sustainability funding for FEMA. Democratic U.S. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost, Darren Soto and Frederica Wilson all co-signed the letter.

“We write to you amidst a season marked by unprecedented natural disasters and increasingly severe weather events that have left communities across our nation in dire need of additional and comprehensive disaster relief funding,” the letter reads.

While that pre-landfall letter had 35 signatures from Democratic lawmakers, a number of Republicans also voiced a desire to go to Washington.

“I know the entire Florida delegation is very committed to making sure that we do everything we need to do to help our state and help our residents recover,” U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican, told Fox Business.

The comments come amid a struggle between President Joe Biden’s administration and congressional leadership. The President wants Congress back in Washington, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he believes FEMA will need additional disaster relief funding. But Johnson has said FEMA should have enough funds right now, and that there’s no need to return to Washington until complete estimates on the storm’s impact can be completed.

Lee said she’s prepared to go into session whenever she gets that call.

“There is enough funding to be responding to the immediate needs,” she told Fox Business. “But I know I stand ready, absolutely — so do my colleagues in Florida — to go back to Washington, D.C., the minute that it is needed.”

The same goes for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Longboat Key Republican and Co-Chair of the state’s congressional delegation.

“Congressman Buchanan is committed to doing everything in his power to ensure his constituents impacted by the recent hurricanes have the full resources of the federal government at their disposal to help them recover and rebuild in the wake of the storms,” a spokesperson for Buchanan said.

“If it becomes clear that more funding is urgently needed for FEMA as we continue to assess the full damage to our state and region, the Congressman would absolutely support Congress reconvening to immediately pass a disaster supplemental package.”

And U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, publicly called on Johnson to bring lawmakers back. “If Congress goes into a special session, we can get it passed immediately,” she posted on X. “This needs to happen. Speaker Johnson, call us back.”

But Luna also weathered criticism for her last vote on spending. She, Lee and 80 other Republicans in September voted against a spending deal with the White House that funds the government through the November election. Buchanan and most House Republicans supported the deal, as did all House Democrats. A day after the vote, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida.

Whitney Fox, a Democrat challenging Luna, criticized Luna’s “nay” vote, and she preceded Luna in publicly calling for Congress to return to Washington and approve more FEMA funding.

Pat Kemp, the Democrat challenging Lee, also criticized her opponent. “We won’t soon forget how MAGA Republicans like Lee voted against FEMA funding — leaving us vulnerable in the face of Hurricane Milton,” Kemp posted on social media.

Jennifer Adams, a Democrat running in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, savaged U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, for voting against the budget deal.

“I was not surprised when I saw our current representative, Cory Mills, voted against funding for FEMA, which is desperately needed for hurricane victims and relief efforts,” Adams said. “Even worse, my opponent immediately went on a photo op tour to capture headlines with the people in the disaster-stricken areas who he voted against funding just before Hurricane Helene hit.”

Mills answered affirmatively when asked if he feels Congress should approve additional funding for FEMA. He waved off the criticism of his vote on the budget deal and said he’s focused now on Milton relief in his district.

“I’m focused on helping those in need as I always have. Serving our great nation, state, district and communities,” he said. “My time is better spent serving the people and not responding to petty ad hominem attacks.”

Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has slammed U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in ads for voting against billions in disaster relief. “Natural disasters are bad enough without Rick Scott making it worse,” she says in a TV spot airing now.

Notably, Scott, a Naples Republican, has called for Senate leadership to take up additional funding. He has voted against prior omnibus bills but missed a Senate vote on the September funding deal because he had returned to Florida to receive in-person briefings before Helene made landfall. He has toured areas hit by Helene and Milton since.

The Senator’s Office noted Scott has also filed bipartisan legislation to replenish disaster relief funding. At a Lee County press conference, Scott put the onus on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, to bring the Senate together and vote on aid.

“A few minutes ago, I spoke with the President,” Scott said. “He agreed with me that Congress needs to come back and make sure the federal agencies FEMA, SBA (Small Business Administration, HUD (Housing and Urban Development) and the Department of Agriculture are fully funded not just for the disaster in Florida but for the disaster with Helene in Georgia, east Tennessee and North Carolina.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, whose district saw Milton make landfall, also voted against the larger spending deal, but joined Scott in blaming Schumer for a slowness in disaster approvals now.  He appeared at a Charlotte County press conference with Scott after Hurricane Helene, and said he’d like the Senate to take up a bill he crafted with Scott that would provide tax relief to hurricane victims.

“We’ve been working on that for two years,” Steube said. “We were able to get it through the House. We call on Chuck Schumer to bring that bill up for a vote. It doesn’t just affect Floridians, it affects every American that was affected by a natural disaster since 2020 — from Hurricane Ian to Helene. Americans all across the country deserve tax relief and we’re hoping to get that through the Senate soon.”

As for stopgap funding for FEMA, Moskowitz in the House has helped spearhead the charge for additional resources. He filed legislation to provide $15 billion for FEMA supplemental appropriations and $8 billion for SBA loans connected to natural disasters.

“Florida will band together and rebuild, and I’m committed to doing all that I can at the federal level to support this recovery,” he posted on X.

But Moskowitz said he does not believe Johnson will change his mind and call Representatives to Washington for a vote.

“If you had that caucus, would you?” Moskowitz said.

In total, 11 Florida Republicans voted “no” on the budget deal, which notably included spending far beyond FEMA. The most frequent criticism of the bill came after Johnson negotiated out provisions requiring prohibiting any state allowing undocumented immigrants from voting in the U.S.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle support providing FEMA with the necessary resources to address the storm. The question now may be whether they have the chance to vote for more relief dollars before voters cast their own ballots in November.