Trump says he may get rid of FEMA ahead of Los Angeles visit to survey wildfire damage

CALIFORNIA – President Donald Trump said January 24, during a visit to disaster areas in Asheville, North Carolina that he may get rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA. I think, frankly, FEMA is not good. I think when you have a problem like this, I think you want to go and – whether it’s a Democrat or Republican Governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA,” said Trump.

Trump made the statements ahead of his visit later that day to California to survey the burn areas from the recent wildfires. The Palisades and Eaton fires, which claimed the lives of 28 people, are currently at 84% and 95% containment.

Trump goes on to say that he thinks they’re going to recommend that FEMA go away and they pay a percentage to the state but the ‘state should fix this.’

Trump may withhold federal aid if CA doesn’t change water policies

In an interview the day before his visits to the disaster areas, Trump said he may withhold federal funding from California if the state doesn’t change its water policies.

“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,” said Trump.

Trump has previously criticized California’s water management policies, particularly the allocation of water to environmental protections over agricultural and urban needs.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the same day that the state would be providing over $2.5 billion in disaster relief to survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires.

“Unlike MAGA Republicans in Washington who talk about delaying relief for political purposes, California is supporting our people with no strings attached. Together, we’ll rebuild Los Angeles,” said Newsom.

In a later statement, Newsom said just as Trump supported California during the pandemic, they will work together again for firestorm survivors ‘who deserve all the help they can get from federal, state and local governments.’

California’s $2.5 billion relief package

According to Newsom’s office, the $2.5 billion relief package will be used for things like emergency measures, evacuations, shelter for survivors, cleaning up debris, and checking for fire hazards.

The funding also includes money to speed up building approvals and rebuild schools.

The relief package money will come from California’s reserve fund, which had about $8.3 billion as of January 10. Officials say the $2.5 billion should be paid back by the federal government.

Californians can go to CA.gov/LAfires – a hub for information and resources from state, local and federal government.