WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — President Donald Trump criticized the federal government’s emergency response agency FEMA on Wednesday, saying, “All it does is complicate everything.”
“What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole other discussion because all it does is complicate everything. FEMA has not done their job for the last four years,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired late on Wednesday.
“And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” Trump, who took office on Monday, added.
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Trump has also threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles unless California leaders change the state’s approach on its management of water.
The president leveled the threat as he prepared for the first presidential trip of his second term. On Friday, he will visit Southern California in addition to western North Carolina, which is recovering after Hurricane Helene pummeled the area more than three months ago.
California on Thursday bolstered funding to help the Los Angeles area recover from its recent deadly wildfires under a more than $2.5 billion fire relief package approved Thursday by the California Legislature.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the bills, which had bipartisan support, and now head to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. The proposals include $2.5 billion for the state’s emergency disaster response efforts such as evacuations, sheltering survivors and removing household hazardous waste. They also approved $4 million for local governments to streamline approvals for rebuilding homes and $1 million to support school districts and help them rebuild facilities.
