Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) pointed the finger at President Donald Trump for the slow start to rebuilding homes in Los Angeles that were destroyed in fires during January.
Newsom announced that he will be paying a visit to Washington “to push for a long-overdue federal aid package for survivors.”
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Over 10 months after the fires were extinguished, LA Mayor Karen Bass announced that the very first house was beginning reconstruction. However, while Bass counted it as a step toward recovering from the wildfires, according to property records, this house was not destroyed in a fire, but was demolished beforehand.
The 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires burned over 37,000 acres of land and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings. These first sparked investigations, and multiple lawsuits have been filed against the state of California and the electric utility company Southern California Edison for their failure to manage and prevent the catastrophic fires.
As governor, Newsom attempted to help victims by signing executive orders to expedite building permits, which his office reports sped up the process threefold. Newsom also opened up the mortgage relief funds to survivors with household incomes of up to $211,050, whereas before, only survivors making less than $141,000 could qualify.
“As the state helps Los Angeles rebuild and recover, we won’t get bogged down in bureaucracy; we’ll rip down barriers and red tape that stand in the way,” Newsom said in a press release before Thanksgiving. “Recovery requires real partnership and being nimble and responsive to evolving needs. We are here, and we are listening — we’ll continue rolling up our sleeves to help this community heal and recover, every step of the way.”
California initially sent a federal funding request for $39 million in February, which has since been revised to $33.9 billion in disaster recovery support. Newsom’s office said there has been no response from the Trump administration.
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Meanwhile, California’s budget is overspent, coming up $17.7 billion short this year.
Trump visited California in January shortly after his inauguration. Newsom’s upcoming trip would be his first to the White House since Trump’s second term.
