Governor Gavin Newsom's trip to Washington D.C. included meetings with President Trump and Congressional leaders to secure federal disaster aid for the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County. The article delves into the complexities of Newsom's efforts to balance collaboration and confrontation with the Trump administration, highlighting both areas of agreement and contention.
Good morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day. Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to Washington this week for a 90-minute sit-down with President Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday, followed by meetings with U.S. House and Senate leaders Thursday. The governor’s main goal was to secure federal disaster aid for Los Angeles County after last month’s deadly, destructive fires, likely to be among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
Local and state agencies can seek federal reimbursements for firefighting resources, providing shelter to the thousands who lost their homes, as well as the monthslong debris removal process. Before he left office, President Biden promised to reimburse 100% of fire response costs for the first six months. But given the region’s long road to recovery and rebuilding, longer-term support will be needed from the Trump administration. And Newsom had a second objective, as reported by my colleagues Taryn Luna and Faith E. Pinho: “To continue to repair his rocky relationship with the commander-in-chief.” How did it go? In an interview with The Times Thursday, Newsom described the conversation as “substantive” and “positive.” He said they discussed wildfire recovery along with more contentious topics, including water policy and recently passed state legislation that would boost the state’s legal funding for an expected barrage of lawsuits against Trump’s actions (which has already begun). You might recall that Trump expressed a desire to put conditions on the state in order to grant federal aid. “I just want voter ID as a start, and I want the water to be released,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina before he flew to L.A. to meet with local officials on Jan. 24. “After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.” Newsom told The Times that quid pro quo did not come up in “explicit terms” when he and Trump spoke Wednesday. Newsom is looking to strike a balance between collaboration and confrontation. Shortly after Trump’s election victory, Newsom told donors that his goal was “not to wake up every single day and get a crowbar and try to put it in the spokes of the wheel of the Trump administration.” “In that spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist, that’s how we want to proceed,” the governor said. “ I’m not naive either, and we’re pragmatic and we will stand firm.”Luna and Pinho noted that Trump’s visit to fire-ravaged L.A. kicked off with a meeting with Newsom on the tarmac, which represented a congenial shift after recent years of contentious crossfire between the two leaders. “After the brief airport chat and a 30-minute phone call the next day, Trump’s daily barrage of criticism of the governor has mostly stopped,” they wrote. “Newsom has been careful not to immediately react to everything Trump says or does, but also walk the fine line of speaking out when he feels California’s values are under attack.” One example of that fine line: the recent discharge of water from two dams in Tulare County by the Army Corps of Engineers, which said it was acting on an earlier order from the president. Trump celebrated dumping billions of gallons downstream into the San Joaquin Valley, saying it would flow to farmers and aid firefighting efforts in L.A. In reality, much of the water ended up seeping into the ground, as reported by my colleague Ian James this week, as it’s not irrigation season and the Central Valley waterway does not lead to L.A. Local and state water experts criticized the action as a wasteful political stunt that will hurt farmers. “Attempts to connect water management in Northern California to local wildfire fighting in Los Angeles have zero factual basis,” Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, told me via email. “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.” But personally, Newsom has been muted on the incident, with some critics even saying that his latest order to “maximize” water capture mirrors Trump's rhetoric. “This order reads as though it was written by President Trump,” Barry Nelson, a policy representative for the fishing group Golden State Salmon Assn, told James. Investigating the California wildfires of 2025 Authorities say an uptick in arson arrests was likely the result of increased public attention to common smaller fires, which are dangerous during extreme weather condition
Gavin Newsom Donald Trump California Wildfires Federal Disaster Aid Water Policy California-Federal Relations
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump Blames Newsom for California Wildfires, Newsom Rebukes ClaimsFormer President Donald Trump blames California Governor Gavin Newsom's policies for the ongoing wildfires, stating Newsom refused to sign a water restoration declaration. Newsom's office denies the existence of such a declaration and asserts his focus on public safety and providing firefighters with necessary resources.
Read more »
Trump Meets Newsom in California Amidst Wildfire CrisisPresident Donald Trump arrived in California to survey wildfire damage, meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom despite their recent public disagreements. Trump blamed Newsom's management for the wildfires, while Newsom called for federal support in the recovery effort.
Read more »
WATCH: Trump Meets Newsom as President Arrives to Tour L.A. County Fire DamageSource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
Newsom Meets Trump to Seek Aid for LA FiresCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with President Trump and lobby for federal wildfire assistance for the Los Angeles fires. Trump has previously threatened to condition aid on changes to water policy and a voter ID requirement.
Read more »
Newsom Meets Trump Amid California Wildfire Recovery and High-Speed Rail DisputeCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom travels to Washington D.C. to discuss disaster aid for wildfire victims with the Trump administration. The meeting comes as President Trump criticizes California's high-speed rail project and threatens an investigation into its cost overruns.
Read more »
Newsom and Trump Meet to Discuss Federal Aid for California Wildfire VictimsGovernor Gavin Newsom met with President Donald Trump to discuss the urgent need for federal aid to support victims of the devastating wildfires in Southern California. The meeting comes after Trump's visit to the affected areas and Newsom's efforts to secure congressional support for disaster relief.
Read more »