During his visit to Southern California last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that blames recent devastating wildfires on the state’s liberal governance and water policies. The order aims to eliminate rules including endangered species protections and give his administration the jurisdiction to oversee much of the state’s water allocation.
“Almost immediately, firefighters were unable to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure,” reads the executive order.
These claims have been refuted by firefighters on the ground as well as experts, who said no “water system in the world” could’ve stopped the raging fires made worse by hurricane-strength winds in early January.
The executive order proposes that the Trump administration take over the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, claiming it’ll help fight the wildfires in Southern California. But about 75% of Central Valley Project water is used for California’s food industry, while the rest goes to cities and towns in the Sacramento and Fresno areas—which are in Northern and Central California.
It’s unclear how Trump would wield his power over California’s water sources, but having federal agencies such as the Department of Interior and Department of Commerce in control of those sources would give him power to play politics with the blue state.
The executive order also threatens to cut off federal funding to the state, saying that it wants to end "the subsidization of California's mismanagement," leaving it up to the director of the Office of Management and Budget to review funding related to California's land and water management and disaster response.
“I’m signing an executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north. We want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible and let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into Southern California, and that’ll be a big benefit to you,” Trump said on Friday during his meeting with officials.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the executive order is based on a false premise.
"Attempts to connect water management in Northern California to local wildfire fighting in Los Angeles have zero factual basis," Newsom’s deputy director of communications Tara Gallegos told NBC News. "California continues to pump as much water as it did under the Trump administration’s policies, and water operations to move water south through the Delta have absolutely nothing to do with the local fire response in Los Angeles."
The executive order focuses on California’s supposed mismanagement and immigration policies rather than on increasing Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for the ravaged state, vaguely threatening to look into “the misuse” of a $213 million federal grant.
“As of the date of this order, the city has yet to use the majority of its $213 million allotment that has accrued since fiscal year 2021,” the order states. “These Federal preparedness grants shall not be used to support illegal aliens. The Attorney General, in coordination with the FEMA Administrator, shall investigate the misuse of these grants by the City of Los Angeles and take appropriate action to address such misuse.”
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025.
It’s no surprise that the notoriously xenophobic Trump is wedging irrelevant immigration issues and the threat of investigations into an executive order that’s supposedly focused on disaster relief.
This comes as Trump voiced his intent to restructure or eliminate FEMA altogether during a visit to Asheville, North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene hit. On Sunday, he signed another executive order creating a “review council” to find ways to change FEMA, which allocates relief funding and assists with recovery in disaster-hit areas.
California Republicans who are usually in lockstep with Trump are in a tough spot, with some even voicing their disgust.
“Playing politics with people’s livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the Southern California wildfire victims and to our brave first responders,” said Rep. Young Kim, a Republican from Orange County, in a statement.
Trump’s executive orders are more focused on scoring political points and placing blame than addressing the real issues facing California and the broader country. By attacking local policies and undermining federal agencies like FEMA, the administration appears more interested in creating division than offering solutions.
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