California Governor Gavin Newsom is suspending key environmental regulations to accelerate the clearing of flammable brush as wildfire risks escalate. The move comes amid mounting pressure from former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, who have long blamed California’s environmental policies for fueling devastating wildfires.
The emergency order will override provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Act, laws that Trump and his allies have criticized as bureaucratic obstacles to forest management. Newsom’s decision marks a significant concession as he seeks nearly $40 billion in federal disaster aid to help rebuild Los Angeles following January’s catastrophic wildfires—expected to be the most expensive disaster in U.S. history.
“This year has already seen some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and we’re only in March,” Newsom said in a statement ahead of his formal announcement. “These are the forest management projects we need to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire, and we’re going to get them done.”
Trump has repeatedly lambasted California for what he calls inadequate forest management, famously suggesting the state should “rake the forests” to reduce fire risks. While more than half of California’s forests are federally managed, Newsom’s emergency declaration is an implicit acknowledgment that previous state-led efforts have not been enough to fend off Republican criticism.
The decision is also likely to ignite controversy among environmental advocates, as it directly targets the California Coastal Commission—an agency Trump has called the most obstructive in the country. Trump officials, including special envoy Richard Grenell, have floated the idea of tying federal wildfire aid to restrictions on the commission’s authority, which they describe as an unelected body run by “crazy woke left” activists.
Newsom’s latest move shows a willingness to sacrifice environmental protections in exchange for securing billions in federal aid—an uneasy compromise that will likely spark backlash from both sides of the aisle.
