Karen Bass was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 2022 on a pledge to reduce homelessness, drawing on her decades of experience in government. She won decisively and proceeded, with some success, to begin moving people off the streets and into shelter.

But the fire that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades this month has rewritten the job description. If Ms. Bass was hired to be the pragmatic city manager with a command of government, Los Angeles is now looking for a general in a hard hat.

Her style — reserved and conciliatory, marked by the circumspect language of someone who once was the leader of the California State Assembly — was on display last week during a tense meeting in the Palisades with President Trump.

The Republican president talked over her, often to applause from homeowners, and told the mayor that she should let residents of Pacific Palisades, which is part of the city of Los Angeles, begin clearing their properties “tonight.” Ms. Bass, a Democrat, responded with talk about process and regulations, explaining that she had waived city rules but that clearing contaminants would take time so that the Environmental Protection Agency could ensure the safety of residents.

It was not what homeowners wanted to hear.

“It feels like she’s not in the room,” said Emily Bianchi, a self-described progressive whose Pacific Palisades home was destroyed in the fire and who attended the panel with Mr. Trump and Ms. Bass. “And, oh my God, he is in the room and he fills it up. She just took a back seat.”