Speaker Johns said today that he believes there should be conditions put on aid money sent to California over the horrific wildfires sweeping Los Angeles County.
Here’s the video from CNN reporter Manu Raju:
Asked Speaker Johnson about placing conditions on aid to California, and he tells us: “I think there should be conditions on that aid.” Said that’s his personal view before talking with the conference.
Also says “there’s some discussion” within the House GOP about tying the debt limit increase to the aid “but we will see how it goes.”
Aid to rebuild after natural disasters often is approved without any conditions and with significant bipartisan support. But there could be a big fight over the California aid in the coming weeks.
New — Asked Speaker Johnson about placing conditions on aid to California, and he tells us: “I think there should be conditions on that aid.” Said that’s his personal view before talking with the conference.
Also says “there’s some discussion” within the House GOP about tying… pic.twitter.com/CZmjZb7WLd
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 13, 2025
Notice that Raju says “aid to rebuild after natural disasters often is approved without any conditions”, but that would be completely irresponsible in this case given the gross mismanagement that led to these wildfires getting out of control so quickly, both on the local and state level.
Democrat media is already outraged over it though:
BREAKING: Republican Speaker Mike Johnson just announced that he is going to try and put conditions on aid sent to California. This is insane. pic.twitter.com/TZPXmIcyHU
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) January 13, 2025
The Five’s Jessica Tarlov piles on:
They are the very worst
They flip out if Biden doesn’t tweet fast enough, let alone condition aid on whatever they – as complete non experts – think is the reason for the devastation
Unity 😏 https://t.co/p6YVIR3liX— Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) January 13, 2025
Joe Concha responded with the right perspective:
Insane is not having water in the hydrants. Insane is throwing money at the problem. https://t.co/bF3QQ8dEzT
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) January 13, 2025
Absolutely correct. If California isn’t going to step up and do their best to protect their citizens, the federal government shouldn’t just throw money at them. Congress should use federal aid to force California to prioritize the issues necessary for basic public safety.