During a tense press conference with local officials, Trump repeatedly bemoaned the perceived decline of FEMA, saying that it “was good” in years past, but it’s “no good anymore.” He suggested doing away with the agency altogether, suggesting that a localized approach to natural disaster response would be more effective and efficient.
“FEMA is incompetently run, and it costs about three times more than just we can spend money on schools instead of giving money to bureaucracy,” Trump said, drawing some applause from the crowd.
He argued that the “problem with FEMA is they come from all over the country,” saying that large states like California would have no problem gathering appropriate personnel to respond to natural disasters. A federal response that used personnel from all over the country rather than locally would lead to confusion with local conditions, he said, adding that Hurricane Helene in North Carolina was “one of the greatest disasters of all time.”
“What FEMA did in North Carolina, you know, they still haven’t gone to certain areas. They don’t know what they’re doing,” Trump said.
“And I say, you don’t need FEMA. You need a good state government. And when you have a problem in Los Angeles, or when you have a problem even in the state of California, you have your own … FEMA, you fix it yourself. You don’t have somebody coming in from a state where they have no idea,” he continued, saying that people from Florida or Alaska wouldn’t be properly familiar with the local conditions.
FEMA, he declared, was a “very expensive” and “mostly failed situation.”
One main area of criticism was the permit process to rebuild after the fires. Trump said that builders were looking at an 18-month waiting period before they could begin rebuilding, something Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass pushed back on.
“That will not be the case,” Bass said, after saying she had signed executive orders cutting the red tape. “So I want you to know that we are expediting, that we absolutely need your help. We need the federal help.”
Trump also questioned the rationale of delaying rebuilding to clear hazardous waste from the burned ruins.
“Well, the hazardous waste, what’s hazardous waste?” Trump said to Bass. “I mean, you’re gonna have to define that. We’re gonna go through a whole series of questions on determining what’s hazard nope, nope. I just think you have to allow the people to go on their site and start the process tonight.”
Reports of a shortage of water to fight the fires were also touched upon, with Trump pledging to sign an “executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north; we want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible, let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into Southern California, and that’ll be a big benefit to you.”
Other suggestions from members of the roundtable included no tariffs on building materials and prioritizing efficient forest management, proposed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). Trump responded saying, “We’ll take a look at that, actually.”
Tariffs have been one of Trump’s campaign promises. He originally said he’d impose them on his first day in office, but he’s since floated delaying enforcing 25% tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico until Feb. 1.
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Trump’s trip to Los Angeles, coming after a stop in North Carolina, represents his first trip as president.
According to Cal Fire, the blazes covering the Los Angeles and San Diego areas have scorched over 55,000 acres, killed at least 28 people, destroyed over 16,000 structures, and required an emergency response of nearly 40,000 personnel.
