Los Angeles fire aid will not be tied to Trump legal fund, Democratic lawmakers say
California Democrats on Wednesday continued to be on the defensive about their plans for a special session to prepare the state for the incoming administration of President Donald Trump.
In their latest move, they walked back a statement from a top state Senator that funding for $50 million in legal defense would be tied with aid for people affected by the fires in the Los Angeles area.
Spokespersons for Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President pro tem Mike McGuire, both Democrats, confirmed the funding will be in separate bills. It’s something Republican lawmakers – many of whom support additional wildfire aid but oppose the funding to fight Trump – pushed for in recent days.
Sen. Scott Wiener, who leads the Senate Budget Committee and is carrying the chamber’s special session bills, told reporters late Monday the two items would be combined in existing legislation. His office also confirmed that is no longer the case.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded the special session to include $2.5 billion to immediately respond to the fires burning through the Los Angeles area, which have killed at least 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Newsom originally called the special session in November following Trump’s re-election to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights” against the incoming president. The governor had called on lawmakers to approve the funding for the state Department of Justice before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
That won’t happen.
With an additional $2.5 billion on the table, leaders said Wednesday the bills will be heard in committees on January 22 and brought for floor votes the week of January 27, a week after Newsom’s original deadline.
The schedule change comes after Republican lawmakers blasted Democrats on social media following Wiener’s comments.
James Gallagher, the top Republican in the Assembly, called it “a pretty sick political maneuver” in a post on X. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, also on X, called on Democrats to “Drop the political angles and conditions on aid.”
In his own post on X, Newsom said he was “not conditioning disaster aid on any other priorities.”
The latest squabble comes after Republicans last week criticized Democratic lawmakers for pushing forward with the Trump-related special session while wildfires were blazing furiously across Los Angeles.
