House Republican Threatens To Withhold Disaster Aid From California Amid Deadly Wildfires

Source: Huff Post

Jan 12, 2025, 06:55 AM EST


Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) on Friday sounded off about his “problem” with California’s policies as he threatened to withhold disaster relief aid amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

“If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies,” said Davidson in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. He later added, “I mean, we support the people that are plagued by disaster but we have to put pressure on the California government to change course here.”

Davidson, moments earlier, declared that officials “need to address” the fires before taking issue with the state’s forest management. “All these things that they’re doing are making it far easier for fires to grow and spread and be huge,” he claimed of the blazes in Los Angeles that have killed at least 16 people and burned over 12,000 structures with about 57,000 more still at risk.

Right-wing media figures have recently pushed misleading claims that California’s “bad forest management” is to blame for the fires while ignoring how climate change impacts measures to prevent the spread of fires, Media Matters for America reported.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/warren-davidson-threatens-withhold-disaster-aid-los-angeles-wildfires_n_6783645fe4b058cbe140f029