Gov. Newsom Meets with Congressional Leaders to Press for Long-Delayed Wildfire Aid

Gov. Newsom spent Dec. 5 in bipartisan meetings on Capitol Hill, urging Congress to break the unprecedented federal delay on LA wildfire recovery funds. Nearly a year after the fires, the Trump Administration still has not submitted a disaster aid package, leaving survivors without long-term federal support.

The Governor’s trip was a forceful push to rally congressional partners, build bipartisan support, and make clear the human and economic cost of continued federal inaction. Across every meeting — Republican and Democrat — the Governor made the same case: Los Angeles survivors need federal assistance now. 

The Governor later met with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California), who represents the Pacific Palisades, and then joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a key appropriator deeply familiar with the long-term recovery needs of disaster survivors in his own home state of Hawaii. Together with Senator Padilla, they discussed the remaining gap in federal assistance for LA and a bipartisan path to securing support. The Governor noted the Trump Administration’s refusal to even send a staffer to discuss the issue, commenting on the broader politicization of the Trump administration. Both senators affirmed their commitment to pushing leadership and the Administration to act for Los Angeles, noting that the situation is now far outside historical norms for major federal disaster responses.

After the Los Angeles fires, Gov. Newsom and the federal government worked to complete the fastest wildfire debris clean-up in U.S. history. The partnership between the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency has been historic. But after cleanup comes rebuilding. It is essential that communities have the resources they need as they move into the next phase of rebuilding their lives. 

Despite the President’s promise, thousands of Californians in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena, Malibu, and across Los Angeles are still waiting for the federal aid needed to rebuild homes, healthcare facilities, roads, schools, and essential services.

Congress has not acted to authorize the long-term recovery aid typically granted early in the next session after disasters of this magnitude as they await a formal request from the White House.

The delay has stalled rebuilding infrastructure, prolonged hardship for displaced families, and left low-income survivors and small businesses without federal support. As the Los Angeles community focuses on rebuilding homes, schools, utilities and critical infrastructure while also supporting small businesses and job growth in the impacted region, they cannot do it alone: the federal government plays a critical role as a partner to the state in this long-term recovery effort. Funding in this supplemental appropriation would: 

• Fund the rebuilding of schools, childcare centers, homes, and vital community facilities. This helps thousands of working families, veterans who lost homes, and thousands of students displaced from their schools.

• Keep small businesses open, support the economy, and maintain jobs. LA’s small businesses and family-owned enterprises are the backbone of our local and national economy. Disaster loans and grants will keep them open, preserve thousands of jobs, and spur wider economic recovery — benefiting Americans who may never set foot in Los Angeles but rely on its goods, services, and culture.

• Restore damaged water systems, rebuild responder infrastructure, and improve air quality monitoring. This protects not only LA’s population but the tens of millions who travel, conduct business, and interact with the region each year.