House Republican Says Californians Shouldn’t Get Disaster Relief Unless State Changes Policies: ‘There Should Be Consequences’
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) said disaster relief should be withheld from California as fires ravage the southern part of the state – unless the state implements policies he wants it to.
A series of fires broke out in the Golden State this week, killing at least 10 while destroying or damaging thousands of homes and other buildings. Some Republicans have seized on the catastrophe to blame the state’s Democratic leadership – especially Governor Gavin Newsom, who is widely expected to run for president in 2028.
Davidson appeared on Friday’s Mornings with Maria on Fox Business, where Maria Bartiromo asked the lawmaker about a spending bill that Congress must pass before government funding runs out in March. In particular, she asked if the legislation would contain disaster relief.
“Have you and your colleagues started talking about the next steps in terms of the Los Angeles wildfires?” she asked. “Some analysts believe the next step is gonna be the enactment of disaster legislation to pay for the rebuilding of all of this infrastructure.”
“Well, we included disaster relief for North Carolina and Florida in the wake of hurricanes recently, and east Tennessee,” he replied. “And no doubt, we need to address fires. But the problem with California is forestry management.”
Davidson claimed California officials aren’t doing enough to prevent wildfires from getting out of control. He then said relief should be contingent on Republican proposals about better land management:
If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies…
California wants the money without changing the policies that are making the problem bad or worse. And I don’t see how Republicans could possibly support that. I mean, we support the people that are plagued by disaster, but we have to put pressure on the California government to change course here.
Watch above via Fox Business Network.
