Communities in California are undergoing recovery efforts to repair the damage caused by the wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles County last January. During his last days in office, former President Joe Biden promised that the cost for the first 180 days of initial cleanup would be completely covered by the federal government. 

However, this promise is yet to be acted upon as California Governor Gavin Newsom’s approximately $34 billion request for disaster aid from the federal government has not been answered. A recent article by Spectrum News stated that when President Donald Trump was asked if the delays were a result of his disputes with Governor Newsom, he stated that “hatred is never a good thing in politics. When you don’t like somebody, you don’t respect somebody. It’s harder for that person to get money.”

UCLA Professor of Public Policy Megan Mullin commented on the unusual, explicit politicization of this response, noting that past disaster relief responses have been historically bipartisan. “If those federal funds don’t come through, that will absolutely slow the recovery” she said.