Just a few hours later praise The U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their work in apprehending a man suspected of starting what ultimately became the Palisades fire, Gavin Newsome called President Donald Trump and Congress for failing to provide sufficient federal aid to disaster victims.
“We need to find out why the President of the United States and Congress refused to provide assistance to those who were victims of this arsonist,” Newsom said at an afternoon news conference. “Thirty-nine billion dollars – in a few months – and the President said nothing. The Speaker of the House said he had no interest in helping the American people who have been devastated here in Los Angeles.”
The governor has repeatedly said he has received “not a word” about help from Trump or Johnson.
Newsom's diatribe may baffle those who recall that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led the first phase of the restoration process by removing household hazardous materials from destroyed and damaged structures. Moreover, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the second phase of wildfire debris removal efforts, which involved clearing hazardous ash and debris from fire-damaged properties.
In March, his office blew the whistle $2 Billion in “Federal Aid” eligible homeowners, renters and businesses in the form FEMA low-interest SBA disaster grants and loans.” This came after Trump met with Newsom and promised to “put out the fire” in the scorched areas of Los Angeles.
Apparently, Newsom meant today The 40 billion dollars he asked for from Congress in February. The money was intended to cover housing and infrastructure costs, economic development grants, low-interest loans, grants for laid-off workers, unemployment assistance, brush clearing, forest management and low-income housing tax credits. None of this, apparently, followed. Newsom says he just wants the same treatment other, redder states have received.
“As a taxpayer, I was proud that Speaker Johnson returned when his district [which includes much of western Louisiana] was devastated. I said the same thing [Texas] Governor Abbott when we sent him support personnel because he needed it given the devastation of the flood. Not a word from the Republican Party. Not a word from Speaker Johnson. Not a word from the president.”
Newsom later took to his personal Twitter account to criticize the president's penchant for expensive capital spending for extravagant purposes. “He's abandoning Americans by building ballrooms and decorating his office in gold. It's disgusting and disqualifying.”
