WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to set conditions on federal disaster assistance to Los Angeles as it rebuilds from the Eaton and Palisades fires, a top aide to the president said Friday, indicating that the California Coastal Commission would be a central target of the White House.
Ric Grenell, a longtime ally to President Trump serving as his presidential envoy for special missions, said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington that “there will be conditions” to the coming aid, echoing previous warnings from both men in recent days.
“I think the reality is that the federal response is mostly money, and so we are going to have strings on the money that we give to California,” Grenell said. “We’re talking about those conditions now.
“As a Californian, I’m all for it, because I don’t have faith that if we just went back and gave California hundreds of millions of dollars that they’re [not] going to go back to their same old ways of not giving us enough water, having dangerous situations on the ground when it comes to forestry,” he added. “It’s going to happen again.”
This week, a Trump administration official told The Times that Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for Los Angeles designated for resiliency — such as clearing overgrowth — had not been fully tapped by the mayor at the time of the fires.
The federal response is currently focused on expediting regular debris removal, accelerating the Environmental Protection Agency’s hazardous debris removal process, and speeding up Angelenos’ access to their homes, the official said. The White House has no plans to conduct a full-fledged federal investigation of the local response that could help determine where to focus federal dollars, the official added, although FEMA is discussing lessons learned with local authorities.
It is unclear how engaged Grenell has been on the federal disaster response, despite Trump naming him as the administration’s designated lead to the crisis during his visit to Los Angeles last month. The official said Grenell is primarily responsible for briefing the president on the progress of the response and serves as a go-between with state and local officials.
Grenell is also taking part in diplomatic efforts over Russia’s war on Ukraine, is negotiating with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and has been tapped to serve as president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
While discussions are still ongoing over precise conditions for aid, Grenell said the administration is looking closely at the California Coastal Commission, which regulates development along the state’s coastal zones and protects public access to the beach.
Initiated by voters and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in his first term, the 1976 Coastal Act was a response to unregulated shoreline development. Almost immediately after its passage, beachfront owners and interest groups across the state began pushing to amend or repeal sections of the law.
Ric Grenell speaks during the Republican National Convention in July.
(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)
“I don’t want to commit too much, but I will say this,” Grenell told the audience. “Everyone who’s involved knows that the California Coastal Commission is a disaster, and it needs to absolutely be defunded. And from just a way to think about government, we already have local government making these decisions.
“It’s an unelected group of people who are crazy woke left,” he continued. “One person can stop progress. And they’ve made California less safe. I think squeezing their federal funds, making sure they don’t get funds, putting strings on them to get rid of the California Coastal Commission is going to make California better.”
The Coastal Commission has been the target of political jostling for years, as politicians and voters debate whether the environmental protections warranted by the commission outweigh the bureaucratic headaches that its regulations sometimes cause.
After the wildfires, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to lift some of the commission’s requirements, to make the rebuilding process easier. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) also said he planned to introduce legislation in the House to curb the commission’s authority.
Trump warned during his visit last month that the commission could be the target of federal scrutiny. Meeting with local leaders just days after taking office, he said the Coastal Commission was considered the hardest agency in the country to secure permits, adding, “I’m not going to let them get away with their antics.”
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), whose district was surrounded by the L.A. County fires, denounced the administration’s position.
“The Trump admin wants to play politics with disaster relief. The reality is Californians give tens of billions more in federal taxes every year than any other state,” Friedman said in a statement. “We shouldn’t have to beg for help when we have residents who have lost everything. This is extortion, plain and simple.”
Grenell’s comments are the latest in a longer saga over the future of wildfire aid for California. Before he left office, President Biden had pledged 100% federal support through June, telling Southern Californians, “We are with you. We’re not going anywhere.”
Less than two weeks later, Trump moved into the Oval Office, and almost immediately Biden’s promise was in jeopardy. Republican leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana first floated the possibility of attaching conditions to federal funding — including adopting stricter voter ID laws.
The proposal was met with widespread dismay from Los Angeles-area politicians, who pointed out that other states did not have to meet certain conditions to receive emergency funding.
“We should not be leveraging the pain and suffering of fellow Americans,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance). “When Mother Nature strikes, she doesn’t care about party affiliation. At the end of the day, we are all Americans.”
Newsom made a trip to Washington this month to discuss wildfire funding with Trump, following the president’s visit to Pacific Palisades. On the trip to California, Trump took in the destruction and pressured local leaders to allow residents to return to their homes. It also gave him and Newsom an opportunity to repair their long-tense relationship.
