OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:00 PM – Friday, January 10, 2025
As catastrophic fires continue to rage in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas, California Democrats rebuffed requests from Republicans in the Legislature to adjourn a special session preparing for the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Rather, they persisted in their strategy of supporting the state Department of Justice in anticipation of legal action against the federal government. In December, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) urged lawmakers to prepare for the special “anti-Trump” session.
James Gallagher, a Republican official from Nicolaus in Sutter County, asserted that the special session should come to a halt in light of the ongoing destruction being inflicted on the Golden State.
“We have so [many] bigger issues right now that we really need to tackle,” Gallagher stated. Los Angeles fire officials announced on Thursday that thousands of homes appear to have been damaged or destroyed by the fires.
The Assembly’s lawmakers voted on Thursday morning to advance several proposed bills, including one that would provide the Department of Justice with $25 million in taxpayer funds.
Over a dozen legislators from the Los Angeles region did not attend the session.
“Getting enough resources to put these fires out are not mutually exclusive to protecting the progress and the people of this great state,” argued Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg).
“If the Republicans have time on their hands right now, they should start working with the incoming administration to ensure that politics isn’t played with the recovery funds that every president in the history of this nation has advanced to states that are facing need.”
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) described the fires as “heartbreaking and devastating,” but he remained silent when asked why his chamber was still proceeding with the Trump-related session when there is larger issues at hand, like the disastrous fires that continue to wreak havoc on L.A. residents. However, he still claimed that the fires were his first priority.
“I’m here to address these wildfires,” he told reporters. “We are acting with great urgency to ensure that we’re providing much-needed relief to Angelenos.”
According to Rivas, that would include a fire insurance measure that could likely be introduced later in the day. The California Senate will introduce legislation this year to assist residents of Los Angeles County in rebuilding their homes, businesses, places of worship, and educational institutions, McGuire continued.
Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Corona) has urged Governor Gavin Newsom to summon a special session on wildfire response on Wednesday, despite the Democrats directing their attention to combating Trump-era policies.
Rivas highlighted that a special session centered on wildfire prevention and response is “a call for the governor to make” and that he had taken part in “zero conversations” about it so far.
On the Senate floor, there was also a heated discussion on whether a special session on “Trump-proofing” California was even necessary.
“We shouldn’t be focusing on Trump-proofing California,” declared Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego). “We should be focusing on fire-proofing California.”
As firefighters continue to fight the Palisades fire, Newsom was held accountable by the GOP president-elect for the flames’ lack of prevention in Los Angeles County, as well as the depletion of fire hydrants. Trump called for the “incompetent governor to allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA” on Truth Social.
“This president may say a lot of ‘crazy’ things,” Jones said regarding Trump. “But at the end of the day, his administration [actually] helped California when we needed it most.”
During talks, San Francisco Democrat Senator Scott Wiener also reportedly chimed in and argued that preparing for the incoming GOP administration is a top concern, despite the fires and slew of other problems plaguing the Golden State.
“I actually do think it’s important for California to stand up for our values and for California residents,” Wiener declared.
In July, Wiener expressed support for “AB-1955,” a law that allows California school districts to not disclose a child’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” to their parents. Additionally, Wiener has “helped secure more than $18 million in state funds for LGBTQ health initiatives… He also ended discriminatory laws that required judges to put LGBTQ youth on the sex offender registry,” his official website boasts.
In a sharp contrast to how Republican officials are frequently treated by the mainstream media in the wake of disasters, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis chastised a reporter on Thursday for failing to hold Democrat California politicians accountable for the fires.
“Is it appropriate for people in your industry [the press] to try to create division and to try to create narratives any time these things happen?… Now, you’re not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a D. If Newsom was a Republican, you guys would go try… you would have him nailed to the wall for what they’re doing over there,” Desantis told a reporter.
Meanwhile, social media users took to online platforms to propose the questions that many Californians are asking.
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