Jan. 13 (UPI) — House Speaker Mike Johnson called for “conditions” Monday on any federal fire aid to California, as he accused state and local leaders of being “derelict in their duty” as the wildfires have killed at least 24 people.
“I think there should probably be conditions on that aid. That’s my personal view,” Johnson told reporters. “We’ll see what the consensus is. I haven’t had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend because we’ve all been very busy. But it’ll be part of the discussion.”
Johnson has repeated claims by President-elect Donald Trump that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass mismanaged funds and water before the deadly wildfires exploded last week, killing dozens, destroying thousands of homes and businesses, and causing billions of dollars in damage.
“Obviously, there has been water resource management, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems, and it does come down to leadership, and it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty, and in many respects,” Johnson said. “So, that’s something that has to be factored in.”
Over the weekend, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley blamed Bass for cutting $17.6 million in funding from the fire department and for failing to maintain infrastructure as 20% of the fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades fire went dry.
“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” Crowley said. “This service delivery model is no longer sustainable.”
Newsom, who has blasted misinformation and blamed climate change for the fires, has said he will order an investigation into why the fire hydrants lost water pressure and ran dry.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., argued Monday “there can’t be a blank check on this.”
“It’s heartbreaking to hear the fire chief say that they’ve diverted all of this money away from the fire department to be used for social programs, when they were already stretched too thin,” Barrasso told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.
“I expect that there will be strings attached to money that is ultimately approved, and it has to do with being ready the next time, because this was a gross failure,” Barrasso added.
Johnson also told reporters Monday that there has “been some discussion” about tying California wildfire aid to a debt limit increase, which is facing pushback from Democrats.
The U.S. government is at risk of defaulting on more than a $36 trillion debt if Congress does not approve a bill lifting the debt ceiling in the next few months.
President Joe Biden has already approved a major disaster declaration for California and vowed to provide federal grants to the state.
