Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) predicted Sunday that “there will be strings attached to any funding that is ultimately approved” for fire aid in the Los Angeles area.
“But do we expect Congress and the Republican Party to still help Americans in need, even if they don't like local politics within the party?” CBS News' Margaret Brennan wrote, “Face… The Nation asked the question.
“I expect there will be conditions on the funds that are ultimately approved, but that has to do with preparing for the next time, because this time it was a huge failure,” the Wyoming Republican responded.
“In addition to tragedies on the ground, we are also witnessing gross mismanagement by our elected officials in California,” Barrasso said during an appearance on “Face the Nation.”
“It breaks my heart to hear the fire chief say he diverted all the money from the fire department to social programs when the department was already stretched thin,” Barrasso said.
Recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area have devastated areas, gutting property and killing 16 people as of Saturday. Five of the deaths occurred in the Palisades Fire, and the remaining 11 occurred in the Eaton Fire, according to the latest information from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.
President-elect Trump has been pursuing Democratic Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom amid the fires, saying last week that the California Democratic Party “should resign” because of the disaster.
“One of the greatest and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is being burned down,” President Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social. “It's gone to ashes, Gavin Newscome should resign. This is all his fault!!!”
The same day, Newsom grilled Trump on CNN over comments the president-elect made as the fires raged.
“People are literally running away,” he says. “People lost their lives. Children lost their schools, families were completely torn apart, churches were burned down.”
“This guy wanted to politicize it,” he added, referring to Trump. “I have a lot on my mind and I know what I mean. I don't do it.”
