Trump on national disasters…
“ In his first term, Trump did delay disaster aid to California and other states based on political spats with their leaders. In one case, as POLITICO’s E&E News first reported, White House aides changed Trump’s mind when he was refusing to sign off on aid by showing him voter registration maps to demonstrate that many Republicans lived in Orange County, which had burned during wildfires in 2018.
In September, Trump said he would continue to use federal disaster aid as a political cudgel.
“We won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” Trump said in a press conference at his golf course near Los Angeles. “And if we don’t give him the money to put out his fires, he’s got problems.”
The Trump transition team did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Trump is bringing back a key player from his first term who has a history of withholding disaster aid from political enemies.
Russell Vought, whom Trump picked to be his budget director beginning in January, helped delay aid to Puerto Rico after a series of deadly hurricanes in 2017. Vought has said he wants Trump to have the power to impound disaster aid appropriated by Congress in his second term.
Trump’s fight with Newsom started over water issues related to the delta smelt during his first term, when he pledged to withhold aid from disaster victims unless California released more water from the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. He also criticized the state for not raking and clearing forests of trees to reduce wildfire risk, while denying that hotter temperatures and drought related to climate change were fueling wildfires.
When Hurricane Helene and extreme rains devastated parts of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina in September, Trump attacked former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, for his response, while praising the Republican governors of Georgia and Florida. He and his political ally Elon Musk also spread conspiracy theories about what was happening in the battleground state.”
Trump revives threats to withhold d... SCOTT WALDMAN | 01/09/2025 06:21 AM EST
