With Trump planning to visit the fire-ravaged state this week, resistance from even a few House members to his efforts to put conditions on disaster aid could further complicate an already fraught relationship between reliably liberal California and the second Trump administration.
Several Republicans who narrowly won California House seats in November have expressed dismay that the state relief could be hitched to demands in exchange for helping the thousands of Californians in their districts still reeling from this month's disaster. Young Kim, whose closely divided district is anchored in fire-prone Orange County, said in a statement. In an interview aired Wednesday night, Trump said he may withhold aid to California until the state adjusts how it manages its scarce water resources.
He falsely claimed that California's fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas. Local officials have said the conservation efforts for the delta smelt had nothing to do with the hydrants running dry as firefighters tried to contain blazes around Los Angeles. They said intense demand on a municipal system not designed to battle such blazes was to blame.
The wind-driven firestorms wiped out whole neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, left thousands homeless and killed more than two dozen people. Trump said earlier this week that discussions are underway in the White House to bring more water to perennially parched Los Angeles, alluding to rainfall runoff lost to the Pacific and the state's vast water storage and delivery system.
All they have to do is turn the valve," the president said. California has long been a favorite target of Trump, who also referred to the fires in his inaugural address Monday.
