Trump again threatens to cut off FEMA funds for California
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he may order FEMA to cut off funding for forest fire relief in California, ratcheting up an old threat that received widespread condemnation for politicizing a natural disaster.
“Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forrest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!” Trump wrote on Twitter. Trump sent a new tweet about an hour later correcting his spelling.
When contacted by POLITICO on Wednesday morning, FEMA news desk manager Michael Hart said he was scrambling to understand what exactly Trump’s tweet would entail. As the federal government enters its 19th day of a partial shutdown, parts of FEMA’s media department remain shuttered, but Hart said the administration would release a follow-up on Trump’s tweet soon.
FEMA disaster relief funds and other programs that “directly apply to the protection of human life or the protection of property” will continue through the shutdown.
Trump has repeatedly antagonized California’s forest management for not doing enough to prevent fires that have devastated the state, killing dozens and causing over $3 billion in damages. Trump threatened in a Nov. 10 tweet to pull federal funds for fire relief unless the state remedies its “gross mismanagement of the forests.”
But California officials have argued forest management is only one element in controlling the increasingly violent forest fires. Former Gov. Jerry Brown said in November: “Managing all the forests everywhere we can does not stop climate change — and those that deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedy.”
The federal government also controls about 60 percent of forest land in the state, and scientists have pointed to a number of possible causes for the increased fires, from stronger winds and a more arid climate to logging and poor management of electrical systems. Brown added in November that solving the problem would require collaboration between state and federal officials.
It was unclear what Trump meant when he tweeted that California needed to “get their act together, which is unlikely.” Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was sworn in this week, used his first full day in office to meet with emergency responders and tour high-risk forest fire areas. He also signed two executive orders to better integrate technology in emergency response and take into consideration victims’ socioeconomic status in emergencies.
Newsom additionally announced Tuesday he would join the governors of Oregon and Washington to request Trump double the federal investment in fire management in the western states.
Despite his threatening rhetoric in the past, Trump agreed to declare a state of emergency in California on Nov. 13, opening FEMA disaster funds for the state. Trump also softened his tone regarding the fires, tweeting at the time: “Wanted to respond quickly in order to alleviate some of the incredible suffering going on.”
Former FEMA administrators have pointed out a disconnect between the president’s rhetoric and the federal government’s actions, saying Trump’s threats generally have no impact on disaster relief.
The president also visited California a few days later, though he continued his claims that poor forest management and failure to clear out shrubbery were to blame more than climate change.
The president’s Wednesday morning comments on Twitter drew immediate response from California.
Garry South, a veteran Democratic strategist who advised Newsom’s first gubernatorial campaign, dismissed the president’s commentary today as “another tweet about ‘Forrest’ fires from, apparently, President Forrest Gump.”
“The overwhelmingly majority of forest land in California is actually controlled by the federal government, not the state of California,’’ he said. “The fire Pres. Gump should be most concerned about is the dumpster fire that is his administration -- especially after the bomb of an address last night from the Oval Office. He looked hilariously like one of those elderly actors voicing a paid ad for reverse mortgages on TV.”