House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana on Sunday reiterated his belief that Congress should consider attaching conditions to aid for California following the wildfire disaster that destroyed many homes and parts of Los Angeles.
Newsweek reached out to the House Speaker's office and Trump transition team by email on Sunday for comment.
The Context
California fire authorities over the past 10 days have worked to successfully contain all but the two largest wildfires – the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire, which as of Sunday afternoon local time stood at 52 percent and 81 percent contained, respectively. The fires spread rapidly due to unexpected Santa Ana winds blew the initial flames over land that had been in a drought since March 2024.
Each of those fires now rank among the most destructive fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: The Eaton fire, which has burned up 14,117 acres, has destroyed around 9,300 structures, making it the second-most destructive fire in state history; the Palisades fire, which has burned up 23,713 acres, has destroyed just over 4,300 structures, making it the fourth-most destructive fire.
However, Republicans have heavily criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for their response to the wildfires, blaming a number of factors that they attributed to Newsom's policies, including an allegedly drained water reservoir and budget cuts to the fire department.
California authorities have ordered investigations into the various conditions that led to and exacerbated the wildfires.
What To Know
On Sunday, Johnson made an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, during which host Kristen Welker addressed comments he made last week where he suggested that any relief or aid to help recover and rebuild in the aftermath of the fire be given only on condition of addressing policy concerns.
When asked if he would commit to disaster relief for California without "strings attached," Johnson said: "No, I won't commit that, because we have a serious problem in California."
"Listen, there are natural disasters," Johnson said. "I'm from Louisiana. We're prone to that. We understand how these things work, but then there's also human error, and when the state and local officials make foolish policy decisions that make the disaster exponentially worse, we need to factor that in, and I think that's a commonsense notion."
"Listen, in California over the last couple years, they cut $100 million from forestry management," Johnson said. "They cut, I think, almost $18 million from L.A.'s Fire Department, putting them into their other crazy priorities, and he had 117-million-gallon reservoir that was left empty for a year outside Pacific Palisades."
"Those were decisions they made based on whatever their ideas were, but it made it worse, and everyone knew it would, and the risk was there," he added.
When asked if he would consider linking relief to a measure requiring an increase in the national debt limit, Johnson said, "That's one of the things we're talking about every morning."
What People Are Saying
When asked for comment, California Governor Gavin Newsom's office directed Newsweek to comments made during an interview with MSNBC political analyst Jen Psaki: "If that's leadership, I have a different definition. I imagine it would be universally felt here. I'm not meeting Democrats, I'm not meeting Republicans, I'm not meeting Californians: I'm meeting American citizens desperate in need, and what they need is empathy, care, compassion, understanding."
"They need support, not rhetoric, not strings attached," Newsom said. "I met families who lost not only their home, but their business, their church, their sense of self, place, community," adding, "That's the face of leadership in the United States of America? Conditioning aid to the American people in need? Politicizing this tragic moment? So, I'll spare any more commentary on it."
DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd in a statement: "Mike Johnson is following Donald Trump's lead to put tax handouts for billionaires ahead of desperately needed disaster relief for Californians. Americans recovering from a disaster shouldn't be a bargaining chip for Trump and Johnson's reckless policies. But instead of working to provide help and lower costs for working families, Trump and Johnson are already telling us they'll only focus on themselves and their billionaire backers over what's best for the American people."
Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming told FOX Business host Larry Kudlow: "It is heartbreaking what we're seeing happening right now in California, and we have our Wyoming national guard helping out there ... but there's going to help from the federal government, you're absolutely right: There has to be accountability for that money. It cannot be a blank check."
"What we've seen, and even the fire chief of LA County has said that they were let down by the mayor, the elected officials – I mean, gross negligence at the state and local level where the fire department had $17 million taken away from their budget, and they were already stretched too thin, and they used the money for social programs," Barrasso said.
What Happens Next
California continues to fight the fires and will focus on completely containing the two remaining major wildfires while extinguishing the other fires they managed to control over the past 10 days.
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