California Delegation Unites Behind Wildfire Aid Plea

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers coalesced behind a bipartisan push for more wildfire recovery aid, projecting unity across party lines as President Donald Trump and other Republicans seek to link federal help to conservative policy priorities.

A joint letter led by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla and GOP Rep. Ken Calvert and signed by every member representing California, obtained exclusively by POLITICO, urges congressional leaders to allocate more funding to help Los Angeles rebuild after catastrophic January wildfires that killed dozens of people and incinerated thousands of structures.

The letter makes no mention of preconditions or of the $40 billion Gov. Gavin Newsom previously requested. But the broad list of signatories underscores how the drive for more federal assistance is bridging partisan divides within California’s large House delegation — and testing Republican adherence to Trump’s negotiating line.

Trump and administration allies have repeatedly talked up attaching strings to federal money, floating ideas like requiring voter ID at the polls and reining in a key coastal regulator.

The letter echoes Calvert’s January statement on X that “Californians are entitled to receive federal disaster assistance in the same manner as all Americans,” which paralleled pushback to Trump from other House Republicans — including frontline members who had just fended off well-funded Democratic challenges.

“Just as the federal government has come to the aid of communities impacted by wildfires across the western United States, tornadoes in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, we should once again support the recovery of the impacted families, businesses and communities in Los Angeles County,” the letter says.

Members of both parties also signed onto a similar request of then-President Joe Biden in January, when the fires were burning but Trump had yet to retake office.

Newsom also worked behind the scenes to organize the letter. The Democratic governor has set aside his enmity toward Trump to try and secure more help for his scorched state, traveling to Washington to meet with the president and seeking to expedite rebuilding by suspending regulations Trump has deplored.

Melanie Mason contributed to this report.