President Donald Trump is threatening to cut U.S. funding to California for aid during wildfires that have burned across the state during dry winds this fall.
Trump tweeted Sunday that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has done a “terrible job of forest management.” He tweeted that when fires rage, the governor comes to the federal government for help. “No more,” the president tweeted.
“Get your act together Governor. You don’t see close to the level of burn in other states…But our teams are working well together in…putting these massive, and many, fires out,” Trump continued on Twitter.
“You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation,” Newsom responded on Twitter.
However, the state controls just a small percentage of forest land. The federal government manages most of it.
Last year Trump made a similar threat as wildfires devastated Malibu and Paradise, California — accusing the state of “gross mismanagement” of forests.
At the time Newsom defended California’s wildfire prevention efforts while criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to help protect the state.
This isn’t the first time the administration has threatened to cut off federal funding. Since he was elected, Trump has attacked California issues, from sanctuary cities to high speed rail to wildfire aid.
One of the most recent California issues challenged by the Trump administration was whether or not the state can set its own greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards.
A few days after revoking the state’s right, the Environmental Protection Agency threatened to withhold federal highway funds if the state doesn’t improve air quality.
General Motors, Fiat Chrysler,Toyota and the Association of Global Automakers, announced they plan to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Defense Fund against Trump’s administration, which is planning to roll back pollution and gas mileage standards that took effect under the Obama administration.
During a September visit to California, the president alleged that used needles and other waste from San Francisco’s homeless population is flowing through storm drains into the ocean.
“They’re in total violation — we’re going to be giving them a notice very soon,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington from the visit. “They have to clean it up. We can’t have our cities going to hell.”
With information from KQED’s Marisa Lagos, Kevin Stark and Jon Brooks.
To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy.