(Image Credit: IMAGN) Jan 16, 2025; Altadena, CA, USA; The remains of St. Mark?s Episcopal church and school in Altadena, California. Mandatory Credit: Megan Smith-USA TODAY
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers are rallying across party lines to secure more federal aid for wildfire recovery, even as former President Donald Trump and his allies push to attach conservative policy conditions to the funding.
A bipartisan letter, led by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla and Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, was signed by every California representative and urges Congress to allocate additional disaster relief for Los Angeles, which was devastated by deadly wildfires in January. The letter, obtained exclusively by POLITICO, avoids any mention of conditions or Gov. Gavin Newsom’s previous $40 billion aid request but highlights the need for urgent assistance.
The rare unity among California’s large congressional delegation contrasts with Trump’s stance. The former president and his allies have floated tying disaster funds to policies like voter ID requirements and weakening coastal regulations—moves that some Republicans have resisted.
“Californians are entitled to receive federal disaster assistance in the same manner as all Americans,” Calvert previously stated, echoing concerns from House Republicans who oppose Trump’s demands. The letter further argues that just as the federal government has aided victims of tornadoes, hurricanes, and ice storms nationwide, it should support wildfire recovery in Los Angeles.
The request arrives just a week before a potential government shutdown on March 14, but it notably does not propose attaching wildfire relief to an emergency funding bill. Both parties had also previously made a similar appeal to then-President Joe Biden in January, before Trump returned to office.
Meanwhile, Newsom has been working behind the scenes to build support for California’s recovery efforts. Setting aside his history of clashes with Trump, the governor has traveled to Washington, met with the president, and even moved to suspend state regulations—some of which Trump has long criticized—in an attempt to speed up rebuilding efforts.
With California’s delegation presenting a united front, the pressure is now on Congress—and Trump—to decide whether wildfire victims will get the aid they need, without political strings attached.
