LOS ANGELES – President Joe Biden approved a sweeping disaster declaration for the fires in Southern California, committing a wide range of federal aid to the region amid fears that President-elect Donald Trump would fail to help the Democratic bastion .
Biden appeared with California Governor Gavin Newsom at a fire station just outside the site of the devastating Palisades fire and called the fires “astonishing.”
“We’re doing anything and everything for as long as it takes to contain these fires … to get you back to normal,” Biden said. “It will be a very long road. It will take time.”
He added that his son Hunter’s home was initially thought to have been destroyed, although it now appears to still be standing.
Newsom, who made the official request for the declaration Wednesday morning, thanked Biden for the quick turnaround in approving the aid.
“It is impossible for me to express the level of appreciation and cooperation we have received from the White House and this administration,” Newsom said.
Implicit in Newsom’s comments was the prospect that the next administration might not be as helpful. Trump, in social media posts on Wednesday, blamed both Newsom and Biden for the conditions that worsened the disasters.
A major disaster declaration typically comes days or weeks after a natural disaster subsides, once local and state governments have completed assessing the extent of the damage. In this case, that standard process would take place long after Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20 — a prospect that has raised alarms in California given Trump’s repeated threats to withhold wildfire aid.
On Wednesday, Newsom filed an expedited request for such a declaration as the fires continued to rage. Governors sometimes request expedited declarations when it is clear that the extent of the damage will be extensive. The emergency declaration makes California eligible for federal assistance to individuals and public infrastructure.
But concerns about an unfriendly new administration are clearly Newsom’s top priority. The governor drew a veiled contrast between Biden and Trump on Tuesday when he credited the current president with quickly approving federal firefighting grants that will offset 75 percent of the costs of fighting the fires.
“Right now, I’m not taking that for granted, honestly, like I have been for the last few years,” Newsom said. “It’s quite expensive. And my message to the new administration – and I’m not here to play politics – is: please don’t play politics.”
