WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to withhold federal disaster aid Los Angeles was devastated by wildfire unless California leaders change the state’s approach to water management.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump reiterated false claims that the state’s fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for the drying up of fire hydrants in urban areas. He says the blame for Los Angeles’ efforts to contain some of the deadly fires lies with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a political opponent who called for partnership and mutual respect while the state fights the fires.
“I don’t think we should give anything to California until the water runs out,” Trump said.
The president made the threat as he prepared for the first presidential trip of his second term. On Friday, in addition to western North Carolina, he will visit Southern California, where the area is recovering after Hurricane Helene hit more than three months ago.
Trump also called for reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the interview, claiming it was “getting in the way of everything.”
“I would prefer that states deal with their own problems,” he said. He didn’t elaborate on his proposed reforms, saying only that the agency “will spark a big discussion shortly.”
Other developments from the fresh administration include Trump meeting on Wednesday with a diminutive group of the most politically vulnerable Republicans in the House of Representatives, as the party struggles to agree on a strategy for implementing the tax cuts and other priorities they promised the voters.
The meeting came as Trump sought to advance other priorities in the first week of his second term. Approximately 160 staff members on the National Security Council were sent home This will determine whether they align with Trump’s agenda. The Pentagon has begun deployment 1,500 active-duty troops to support border security efforts.
“The American people have been waiting for a time like this,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, met with Senate Republicans to brief them on plans for deportations and reintegration Title 42a policy introduced during the coronavirus pandemic to stop border crossings.
Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, they hold only a narrow majority on Capitol Hill and there are differences over how to proceed with so many issues on the table.
Trump’s meeting came as part of a series of private “listening sessions” with House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose ability to unify his conference will be tested in the coming weeks and months. Trump has held his own dinners with Republican lawmakers at Mar-a-Lago and is preparing to address them next week at their private retreat in Doral, Florida, where the president owns a resort.
“We are working very closely and closely with the White House because this is an America First agenda that requires both branches of government to work together,” Johnson said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Trump also announced his pick for US intelligence director and ambassador to the European Union on Wednesday.
He names former rapid food executive Andrew Puzder as his EU envoy and Secret Service veteran Sean Curran as his candidate to lead the US intelligence agency.
Puzder, a former executive of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants, was nominated by Trump to be labor secretary early in his first term but abruptly withdrew his nomination after Senate Republicans refused to support him Part of the taxes he paid slow to a former housekeeper who was not authorized to work in the United States. Puzder paid taxes on the housekeeper only after Trump nominated him for the Cabinet post, and five years after he fired the worker.
Curran was among the agents who rushed to Trump’s aid after he was shot in the ear during an attack failed assassination attempt at a July campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. During Trump’s first term, he served as deputy special agent in charge of the President’s Protective Division.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Curran for his “fearless courage” during the Pennsylvania attack.
“Sean has distinguished himself as a brilliant leader capable of leading and directing operational security plans for some of the most complex special security events in the history of our country and the world,” Trump said.
Trump also indicated in the Fox News interview that he would welcome investigations into former President Joe Biden.
Trump is the first president to be convicted of a crime – in a case related to business records about hush money payments – and was prosecuted for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s really hard to say they don’t have to go through this too,” he says.
