House Speaker Mike Johnson sees no progress on CA disaster aid, blasts Gavin Newsom
House Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and California officials for the delay in getting approval of federal disaster aid for last winter’s deadly Los Angeles wildfires.
Asked if there was a way to get the funding approved, Johnson said at a Capitol news conference in Washington, D.C., “We wouldn’t know how much to commit because there’s a process this goes through.”
Newsom, who lately has been in a political war with the Trump administration, is a big reason, the Louisiana Republican said.
“Gavin Newsom seems to enjoy trying to stick his thumb in the eye of the White House and Congress, which seems to be counter purpose if he is requesting relief,” Johnson said.
The speaker said he had not seen a request for aid from the White House. But Newsom did send Johnson, Rep. Tom Cole, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and top House Democrats a 14-page detailed letter seeking help on February 21. The fires killed 30 people.
The governor asked for $39.6 billion to support cleanup, business recovery and other needs following the early January firestorms which destroyed more than 16,000 structures in Los Angeles County.
Newsom wrote the funds “will directly support these communities in both the immediate and long-term recovery work needed to rebuild lives and properties from this catastrophic event.”
Earlier in February, Newsom traveled to Washington, where he met with President Trump and members of Congress about the fires and requested aid. Trump toured wildfire sites in January and said he wanted conditions attached to any aid.
Newsom’s office said it was “in contact with the Speaker’s office” and chalked Johnson’s comments up to a misunderstanding.
“It’s our understanding the Speaker was referring specifically to the White House’s formal appropriations request,” the governor’s press office wrote in a post on X.
“We look forward to working together — in a bipartisan manner — to deliver the relief Americans need. Disaster doesn’t care about party lines.”
Historically, Congress approves and the president signs special funding legislation to help disaster victims. Earlier this year, the Trump administration and Johnson suggested no aid would be approved for California without conditions, such as tough voter identification laws. The White House had not responded to a request for comment by deadline time for this story.
But privately, members of Congress urged patience. Six months after the fires devastated part of the region, nothing has been done.
“The White House and every previous administration and every previous Congress takes the request from the state,” Johnson explained. “They send the request to Congress, and then Congress goes through regular order and acts upon the request.”
“We haven’t had that in California yet for whatever reason,” Johnson said. “We’ll take care of our fed responsibilities but we haven’t seen a calculation nor a formal request yet.”
“I would get a formal request from the White House and the executive bench,” Johnson continued. “That’s how this works. We’re going to follow the rules.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 9:40 AM with the headline "House Speaker Mike Johnson sees no progress on CA disaster aid, blasts Gavin Newsom."
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