Democratic State Assemblyman Robert Rivas of California refused to answer questions about the timing of a special session to allocate $25 million for the state to combat President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration Thursday.
Wildfires have devastated multiple Los Angeles-area jurisdictions, leaving at least five people dead and destroying hundreds of buildings.
KCRA-TV reporter Ashley Zavala asked Rivas whether the timing of the special session to increase resources for legal battles with the incoming Trump administration was appropriate.
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“So, um, I’m here to address this, this, you know, these, these… wildfires. This is a historic… wildfire. This is a historic event, these wildfires, as I mention, are quite possibly going to be some of the worst wildfires and disasters in the state in… history,” Rivas said.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California called for the special session Nov. 7, two days after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
Zavala asked whether now is “the right time for that?”
“While these wildfires are happening, and while people are trying to understand what is going on, and they’re worried about disaster relief, worried about the ability to get homeowner’s insurance, your chamber gaveled into the special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way you are already able to do without a special legislative session,” Zavala said.
Rivas responded.
“So, certainly, our focus right now as speaker actually, um, at this point, my colleagues and I are acting with great urgency, great urgency, to ensure that we’re providing much-needed relief, um. to Angelenos, that, that, that, that we understand what it will take for this region to r_ecover and to support those who have been most impacted by this disaster,” Rivas said. “And it’s, you know, this is, you know, the response from, from our first responders has been unprecedented and, um, they’re doing all that they can to control and contain, again, these multiple fires and doing whatever they can to ensure that uh, they’re keeping people safe now, and again in anticipation and in preparation for recovery, and, as a state, as a legislature, we will do everything we can to support that recovery.”
The city cut the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget by almost $20 million last year, with the bulk of the cuts hitting the department’s operational supplies. Democratic Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana as part of a delegation when the wildfires broke out.
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America
