White House slams Newsom after gov claims Trump admin turned down LA wildfire aid meeting: No idea what hes talking about
The White House tore into Democratic California Gov.Gavin Newsom on Friday after he claimed the Trump administration refused to meet with him Friday during a visit to Washington aimed at securing more wildfire recovery aid. More than $7 billion in federal funds have been issued to California since January, when the Palisades and Eaton fires torched thousands of acres of land and high-priced homes, but the Golden State governor wants a lot more. Newsom formally requested an additional $34 billion from Congress earlier this week – down from his initial $40 billion ask in February – and met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to push for the additional funds. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), however, rebuffed Newsom’s meeting request, according to the governor’s office.“Today, I had productive meetings with leaders on both sides of the aisle who agreed that recovery funding is vital, while federal officials from the Trump administration turned their backs on survivors by refusing to even meet with us,” Newsom said in a statement. “President Trump’s promise to ‘take care’ of survivors was clearly a lie,” the governor charged.
“He isn’t here for the people of Los Angeles, just like he isn’t here for everyday Americans. “That’s not just disrespectful, it’s a disgrace – and it’s time for him to wake up and do his job.”Newsom’s office described the request to meet with FEMA Acting Administrator Karen Evans as “routine,” and the alleged rejection as unprecedented. DHS informed Newsom’s team that Evans was “not able to accommodate a meeting” and offered no alternatives with other Trump administration officials, according to the governor’s office. Newsom’s team claimed the Trump administration’s unwillingness to push for more wildfire recovery funds for California is “abnormal” and a sharp break from how his predecessors have responded to...