MAGA Republican Wants to Turn L.A. Fire Relief Into Political Pawn
Republicans aren’t interested in providing disaster aid to Californians suffering from the devastating wildfires, unless those Californians are ready to do exactly what they say.
During an interview on Fox Business Friday, Representative Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, said GOP lawmakers would be reluctant to help Californians who had been affected by the wildfires because they don’t agree with California’s policies.
“People are losing their home insurance coverage for fire because of policies that the state government’s doing, and if they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies,” said Davidson.
Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo noted that Warren’s Californian colleagues would continue to push for aid to “states prone to disasters” to have money allocated to dealing with those disasters.
“Yeah, but 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,” Davidson said. “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.”
It’s important to note that there are no “states prone to disasters” anymore, there are only states. Every corner of the United States, even those that are not historically affected by severe weather, will only continue to experience escalating natural disasters as climate change worsens. Earlier this year, Asheville, North Carolina, which was previously considered a potential climate safe haven, was devastated by catastrophic flooding after it was struck by Hurricane Helene.
It seems that Republicans such as Davidson, ready to play politics with disaster aid, are taking a page out of Donald Trump’s book. While he was president, Trump was reportedly hesitant to send aid to areas where people voted against him, such as wildfire-stricken California. Trump had to be shown a map of Trump voters in Orange County before he agreed to send help.
Bartiromo asked Davidson whether there had been any Republican “pushback” against sending aid to California.
“Yeah I think so, and I think, how do you do that?” Davidson replied. “Because you don’t want to send the message to families, ‘Oh, we’re not going to take care of you!’ They certainly didn’t have a problem saying that to the people in western North Carolina, uh, in the Biden administration.
“Instead, the Biden administration said, ‘Oh, we’re gonna take care of everything! And so, different response when it’s out there where the Hollywood elites live. So that’s disappointing from the Biden administration. Help is on the way from President Trump and a new administration,” he continued.
“But when it comes to congressional funding, the idea that we’re going to have an open checkbook, no matter how bad your policies are, is crazy,” Davidson added.
Rep. Warren Davidson on CA disaster relief: "If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies ... CA wants the money without changing the policies that are making the problem worse & I don't see how Rs could possibly support that" pic.twitter.com/zMrwCmiXEu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 10, 2025
It’s unclear what Davidson is referring to here. The Biden administration approved more than $300 million for emergency assistance across North Carolina, which included $118 million in individual assistance to more than 87,600 households. The only people convinced that they weren’t providing aid were the GOP politicians hoping to use Hurricane Helene as political fodder for the forthcoming election.
Also, for what it’s worth, the only one threatening not to take care of people suffering from disaster is Davidson. If Davidson doesn’t want to give the impression that that’s his “message,” one possible way to get around that is to say something else.