The Small Business Administration announced Tuesday it approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) request for disaster relief funding, seeking to address the steep damages Los Angeles suffered during recent anti-ICE riots in the city. 

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler approved an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration, enabling small businesses to apply for up to $2 million in low-interest EIDL loans to support working capital and normal operating expenses such as payroll, rent, and utilities, according to a press release from the agency.

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Loeffler wrote that Los Angeles suffered $1 billion in damages due to fiery protests that sparked last month in reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations targeting illegal immigrants for deportation in the Golden State. Some of the protests turned into riots, with violent anti-ICE demonstrators vandalizing the city amid attacks on law enforcement and federal agents. 

After hundreds were arrested for looting and vandalism at numerous businesses during the turmoil, which led Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to enact a curfew, Loeffler urged Newsom to request an EIDL declaration from the SBA. She suggested on Tuesday that he had delayed until this week to do so because he wanted to characterize the violent demonstrations as peaceful.

“Governor Newsom allowed a mob to rampage Los Angeles – standing with violent rioters, paid protestors, and criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens,” she said in a statement. “Despite an estimated $1 billion in damage, he refused federal relief for weeks, insisting that the riots were peaceful even as small business owners stood in the rubble.” 

“Although the SBA has approved California’s disaster relief request and will begin delivering immediate aid to the innocent victims, Governor Newsom must take accountability for his state-sanctioned crisis – and stop playing politics with Americans’ livelihoods,” she continued. 

Newsom and other Democratic state leaders, such as Bass, suggested the protests didn’t escalate until Trump got involved despite videos of violence emerging beforehand. They accused the president of fomenting the unrest and “orchestrating” the riots by authorizing the National Guard and Marines to quell violence. 

The Trump administration said troops were deployed in response to violence. The White House placed the onus for the unrest on Democrats, arguing the president was forced to federalize the situation because Newsom failed to secure the city. 

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In response to an announcement from the Pentagon on Tuesday that it was pulling 150 troops from Los Angeles, Newsom claimed victory, saying Trump had “caved” and calling on the president to send remaining military personnel home. 

“Nearly 5,000 soldiers — including police, paramedics, and first responders — are still sitting idle in L.A. for nothing,” Newsom said.