California Governor Gavin Newsom has requested $40 billion in disaster aid for his state after last month’s devastating wildfires.
“It’s clear that recovery from these fires is beyond the capabilities of California alone and necessitates the support of the United States government,” the Governor wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
“Make no mistake, Los Angeles will use this money wisely. California will ensure that funds will serve individuals, communities, property owners, and businesses that suffered losses from these devastating fires.”
The Governor’s letter praised President Trump for his administration’s help in clearing debris. It also proposes pulling relief funding from a wide variety of agencies, including the Small Business Administration and Department of Commerce, rather than relying solely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Richard Grenell, President Trump’s political envoy for special missions, said on Friday that any aid for California would come with “strings” attached, in line with earlier statements by the President himself.
“The federal response is mostly money and so we are going to have strings on the money that we give to California,” Grenell, President Trump’s envoy for special missions, said during an interview with Politico at CPAC.
Grenell pointed to the state’s policies on water and forests, although he did not give specifics. He did say that the California Coastal Commission, which protects the state’s coastlines, should be defunded.
Grenell has also floated the idea of running for California governor.
Governor Newsom has come in for harsh criticism for his role in the response to the wildfires, especially in approving deep funding cuts.
Newsweek reported that Governor Newsom approved cuts of over $100 million to seven state-level “firefighting and resilience” programs in June of last year. The cuts included $28 million from state conservancies that increase resilience to wildfires; $12 million from a project to protect homes from fires; $8 million from wildlife monitoring and research; $4 million from a forestry project that shows homeowners how to manage their land and protect against fires; and $5 million from vegetation-management programs.
On Friday, as she struggled to contain criticism and anger about her own role in the bungled response to the wildfires, Democrat LA Mayor Karen Bass fired her embattled fire chief, Kristin Crowley. Crowley has been widely slated as a “DEI pick” whose sole qualification for the job was that she wasn’t a white man.
“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief,” the Mayor’s statement said.
“We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch. Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal.
“The heroism of our firefighters – during the Palisades fire and every single day – is without question. Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs.”
Bass was on official business in Ghana when the fires broke out at the beginning of January, and was trying to close 16 fire stations the week before the conflagrations broke out. Hundreds of thousands of people have now signed a petition for her to resign.