The White House tore into Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday after he claimed the Trump administration refused to meet with him Friday during a visit to Washington aimed at securing more wildfire recovery aid.
More than $7 billion in federal funds have been issued to California since January, when the Palisades and Eaton fires torched thousands of acres of landand high-priced homes, but the Golden State governor wants a lot more.
Newsom formally requested an additional $34 billion from Congress earlier this week – down from his initial $40 billion ask in February – and met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to push for the additional funds.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), however, rebuffed Newsom’s meeting request, according to the governor’s office.
“Today, I had productive meetings with leaders on both sides of the aisle who agreed that recovery funding is vital, while federal officials from the Trump administration turned their backs on survivors by refusing to even meet with us,” Newsom said in a statement.
“President Trump’s promise to ‘take care’ of survivors was clearly a lie,” the governor charged. “He isn’t here for the people of Los Angeles, just like he isn’t here for everyday Americans.
“That’s not just disrespectful, it’s a disgrace – and it’s time for him to wake up and do his job.”
Newsom’s office described the request to meet with FEMA Acting Administrator Karen Evans as “routine,” and the alleged rejection as unprecedented.
DHS informed Newsom’s team that Evans was “not able to accommodate a meeting” and offered no alternatives with other Trump administration officials, according to the governor’s office.
Newsom’s team claimed the Trump administration’s unwillingness to push for more wildfire recovery funds for California is “abnormal” and a sharp break from how his predecessors have responded to natural disasters.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Post that “Newscum has no idea what he’s talking about,” using Trump’s derisive nickname for the Golden State governor.
“President Trump’s historic leadership following the LA wildfires led to the fastest hazardous debris removal operation in history,” Jackson said. “This has played a critical role in helping communities recover from tragedy.
“And when Democrat politicians and bureaucrats said something like this was impossible, President Trump found a solution.”
The White House spokeswoman argued that Trump “expedited” the wildfire recovery process, while Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “made the disaster worse than it needed to be.”
“They drained the Santa Ynez Reservoir and failed to prepare to utilize pumps and aqueducts. Then, they slowed the recovery process with permit approvals dragging on despite the President’s tremendous efforts to help the overall process,” Jackson said.
FEMA and DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who along with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has been leading an ongoing congressional investigation into the LA fires, noted ahead of Newsom visits that Palisades residents have alleged billions of dollars in past federal support for wildfire preparedness and recovery in California “have been wasted.”
“I encourage him to publicly share exactly how the state has used the billions in tax dollars it has already received over the past decade that were intended for wildfire preparedness and recovery, and that witnesses on the ground allege were wasted,” Scott said in a statement.
“We’ve heard from survivors of the devastation who lost their homes and livelihoods, and from the families of those who lost their lives. We’ve also heard about the roadblocks and bureaucracy that are still preventing victims from rebuilding their lives nearly a year later,” Scott continued. “According to these victims’ testimonies, California has not spent these federal dollars wisely or effectively.
“They deserve answers before California receives more of Americans’ hard-earned tax money.”
The post White House slams Newsom after gov claims Trump admin turned down LA wildfire aid meeting: ‘No idea what he’s talking about’ appeared first on New York Post.
