President Donald Trump on Friday, Jan. 24, said future federal aid for the recovery of California’s most devastating wildfires will come — only if the state establishes a voter ID law and changes its water management strategies.
“I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina, where he was touring hurricane recovery efforts ahead of his trip out west.
As of Friday morning, the 14,021-acre Eaton fire was 95% contained, and the 23,448-acre Palisades fire 77%, according to Cal Fire.
But together, they’ve claimed 28 lives — 11 in the Palisades fire area and 17 in the Eaton fire area, according to the county medical examiner.
And they’ve destroyed thousands of homes, churches and schools.
But as the toll mounted, Trump and state leaders have been involved in a back-and-forth over the extent of federal aid that would extend past the support former President Joe Biden signed off on.
That support, through FEMA, extends into the early Trump administration.
But going forward, there’s no guarantee, in what will be a multibillion-dollar recovery.
The question of tying a condition to federal recovery aid for California has divided Republicans in recent weeks. While Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, have said they support imposing certain conditions on wildfire aid, Southern California’s lawmakers, by and large and on either side of the aisle, have said no.
“Under no circumstances should there be conditions on disaster aid,” said Rep. Judy Chu, who represents Altadena, an area decimated by the Eaton fire.
Rep. Young Kim, a Republican who was set to join a roundtable briefing with the president later Friday in the Pacific Palisades, said setting conditions on federal aid would set a “bad precedent” for future disaster relief requests.
Trump has long slammed states that don’t have voter ID, a requirement or request during voting that one proves their identity with specific forms of identification. Several states have the requirement. While California does not require such identification, some first-time voters may be asked to show a form of ID when at the polls.
In the new Congress, Republicans plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both the House and Senate to push through long-sought changes that include voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements.
In the meantime, Trump has castigated California’s water management.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity this week — Trump’s first television interview since his inauguration for his second term — he accused Newsom of refusing to “release the water that comes from the north.”
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,” Trump said.
But local leaders have urged Trump to pull back from setting conditions on federal support in the area, buffered by an argument that urban hydrant systems were never designed to stop fierce wildfires that burn through towns.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, at an event at a Pasadena church on Thursday, seemed hopeful that Trump would back federal support, especially after seeing the scope of the damage.
“My hope is he will see and experience what he needs to,” she said, “to understand the importance of being a partner with us to rebuild. I, for one, don’t care if he talks to me. I want him to talk to the people. Because when you talk to the families that were devastated, I would defy anybody to turn their back.”
That has followed a chorus of similar comments from local leaders, urging Trump to refrain from putting conditions on aid.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.