The looming political and media fight over the Los Angeles wildfires will be about Republican attempts to add conditions to federal aid. Given the incompetence and self-destructive policies of California Democrats, there is no reason why the aid shouldn’t carry conditions.
The battle lines are already being drawn on this matter. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has already said President-elect Donald Trump makes aid decisions based on his politics, and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) argued that it is “completely inappropriate” to place conditions on wildfire aid because “Mother Nature … doesn’t care about party affiliation.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) came out of the gates early, saying there should be conditions and that there have “obviously” been “all sorts of problems” coming from California and Los Angeles Democrats that led to this crisis.
Johnson is clearly in the right here. Federal aid, courtesy of taxpayers across the country, should not flow into Los Angeles as part of relief without California taking substantive steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. This was not the fault of “Mother Nature,” as Lieu asserted. It was the fault of California and Los Angeles Democrats who underfunded fire services, did not have water infrastructure prepared, and let the state turn into a tinderbox by refusing to clear forests of dead brush.
Giving California federal aid without securing commitments to fire readiness, reservoir construction, and forest management would be akin to lighting that money on fire. California would be left in the same position it has been for years, creating the circumstances for wildfires to blaze out of control again. The burned-down houses, evacuations, and everything else would still be on the table because California and Los Angeles Democrats cannot be trusted to make these reforms without being prodded.
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If California would rather use wildfires to push a climate agenda than take real steps to limit them and be prepared, the state does not deserve federal aid to deal with the consequences time and time again. If California wants to keep itself in this wildfire-holding pattern, there is enough money in the bloated state budget to send aid to Los Angeles, starting with the $50 million the state is setting aside to sue the Trump administration and oppose deportations of illegal immigrants.
California is not in this predicament because of an unstoppable hurricane or unpredictable storm. The damage done by the wildfires is the result of the incompetence of city and state Democrats, as well as the policy decisions that make fighting wildfires more difficult. Newsom and the Democrats in charge have proven they are incapable of learning this lesson on their own. They shouldn’t be bailed-out for their failures.