Trump threatened to withhold aid unless California imposes voter ID. Can he do that?
President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he wanted to see California adopt two policies before he would sign off on federal wildfire aid: Voter ID and an overhaul of its “water flow.”
But voters already have to show identification in California before they can vote. And an overhaul of the water flow isn’t that simple.
“I want to see two things in Los Angeles: Voter ID, so that the people can have a chance to vote,” Trump said, hours before his scheduled visit to Pacific Palisades to view wildfire damage. “And I want to see the water released, so that it can come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state.”
The president touched down Friday afternoon to meet Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and congressional officials while surveying damage from the ongoing wildfires.
While he initially told Fox News he “didn’t know” if he and the governor would get together, the two met on the tarmac. As the two embraced, Newsom thanked the president for his support.
What’s less clear is if California can adopt either of the policies Trump mentioned.
The president and his allies have insisted that any federal reimbursements for disaster relief aid should be conditioned upon Newsom and the Legislature adopting vague, ever-changing new policies on forestry management, immigration, and water.
The governor’s office said in response that California already had identification laws in places when people register to vote.
“Under current state law you must be a California resident and U.S. citizen (and attest to being one under penalty of perjury),” the office said on social media, “AND provide a form of ID such as driver’s license or passport that has been approved by the Secretary of State in order to register to vote.”
It’s also unclear what California can do to “let the water flow” as Trump has repeatedly insisted. The president has falsely claimed that the wildfires broke out because Newsom’s administration did not ship enough water from Northern California to Southern California. Experts attributed the blazes to climate change, exacerbated by historic Santa Ana winds.
Sitting in front of local leaders including Bass, Trump again wrongly blamed elements of the fire disaster on a lack of water resources coming from the Delta and environmental protections for the delta smelt, a small fish near extinction that has become a symbol of GOP frustration.
That has received a sharp rebuke from California leaders and water experts who point out that Los Angeles’ water supply is flush after two rainy years, and statewide water supply questions have no relationship to municipal water system failures during the Palisades fire.
Newsom, who has avoided major fights with the president this week, had suggested Thursday that the president spread misinformation because he lacked any working knowledge of California’s water policies.
“I don’t mean it in a malign sense,” he said after signing a $2.5 billion state relief package. “Maybe the president just doesn’t know that there’s not a spigot that can be turned to solve all the water problems that he alleges exist that don’t exist when it comes to the state water system here in California.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 1:13 PM.
