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U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said she doesn’t think conditions should be placed on federal support for wildfires moving through Southern California, after President Donald Trump He suggested that he wanted the fire aid to be conditional.
The district Chu represents includes Altadena and North Pasadena, which have been affected by the deadly Eaton Fire.
“There have been no conditions on disaster aid in the history of America,” Chu told Inside California Politics.
“I know I’ve voted for disaster relief in red states and blue states,” he continued. I never considered whether they were Republicans or Democrats. Let me tell you, wildfires have no political affiliations. They don’t have a political party.”
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. During an Eaton Fire press conference on Jan. 9, 2025, at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. (Getty Images)
This comes after Trump said on Friday that two conditions must be met in California before the federal government provides disaster relief. He said he wants lawmakers to pass voter ID legislation and let the water flow statewide.
“I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water released and coming down in Los Angeles and across the state,” Trump told reporters. in North Carolina while rotating hurricane recovery efforts in that state. “That’s both. After this, I’ll be the greatest president California has ever seen.”
Trump visited Los Angeles later Friday to watch forest fire damage and meet with local officials and residents.
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour an area affected by wildfires in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on January 24, 2025. .
Chu said he wants Trump to tell working-class victims in his district that they would only see help to address the devastation if there are conditions.
“I want you to see how these everyday Americans are being horribly devastated, and I also want you to hear their voices,” Chu said. “I want him to actually look the victim in the eye and say he wouldn’t provide help unless there were conditions.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, responded to Trump’s comments about conditional aid. The Governor’s Office said several other states, including some won by Trump, do not generally require identification at the polls and that California residents must provide identification when they register to vote. Newsom’s office also said the state is pumping as much water as it could under Trump’s first-term policies.
Los Angeles agency reveals estimated economic impact of deadly fires as infernos still rage
A view of homes destroyed by the Eaton Fire on January 9, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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“Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong,” Newsom’s office said of X.
Republicans in Congress have suggested tying fire aid to an increase in the debt ceiling or changes to California’s wildfire mitigation policies, but Democrats have argued against conditions on federal aid to Southern California.
