In response to several Republicans threatening to withhold disaster relief from Los Angeles wildfire victims, DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman released the following statement:  

“Donald Trump and his allies in Congress see the suffering of wildfire victims as nothing more than a bargaining chip in their quest to make billionaires even richer. Instead of providing help to the impacted families who need it most, Trump and Republicans want to play politics with disaster aid to appease their billionaire backers.” 

Trump is threatening to play politics with disaster relief, suggesting tying it to his reconciliation bill so he can get “everything we want.”

Trump: “If you add Los Angeles into it then you can really do one, big beautiful bill because frankly they want that so badly. They want the money to go out there so badly. And I don’t think we should do a bill until Los Angeles is included, and when Los Angeles is included, we get everything we want.”

Earlier this week, Johnson refused to rule out “strings” on disaster aid in the latest example of Republicans playing politics with billions in relief.

Kristen Welker: “Can you commit that California disaster relief won’t have strings attached?”

Mike Johnson: “No, I won’t commit to that.”

Following Trump’s lead, a chorus of Republicans say they want to put conditions on wildfire aid to California.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso: “I expect that there will be strings attached to money that is ultimately approved.” 

Washington Post: “Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) said California and other Democratic-controlled states would need to atone for ‘bad behavior’ if they wanted federal assistance.”

The Hill: “Tuberville says California doesn’t ‘deserve’ funding after wildfires unless it makes ‘some changes’”

The Daily Beast: “Republicans: We Want ‘Strings Attached’ to California Fire Aid”

Just weeks ago, Speaker Johnson went along with Trump’s orders to break a bipartisan agreement, threatening a government shutdown and critical disaster relief funding in the process.

John Bresnahan, Punchbowl News: “New: Trump is telling Republican senators that he is totally opposed to the CR & believes Mike Johnson has mishandling the situation”

Lawrence Jones III, Fox News: “I just spoke with the President-Elect @realDonaldTrump, and he is ‘totally against’ the proposed CR.”

NBC News: “President-elect Donald Trump excoriated a bipartisan government funding bill Wednesday afternoon, throwing the stopgap measure into chaos just as leaders of both parties were hoping to pass it.”

CBS News: “The new stopgap measure, with approval from the House, Senate and President Biden, would keep the government funded through March 14, giving lawmakers more time to reach agreement on new spending bills when the GOP controls both the House and the Senate.”

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