Two of California’s own Republican lawmakers want to place conditions on aid: reports

14 January

House Speaker Mike Johnson faced backlash after suggesting that there should be "conditions" placed on aid given to California amid its ongoing wildfire crisis — but several of the state's own Republican lawmakers agree with their leader.

According to Mediaite, in a Monday report published by The Bulwark, national political reporter Joe Perticone wrote that "at least two GOP California House members ;want to stick it to the residents of their own state.'"

Perticone noted that although Rep. Tom McClintock's (R-CA) district has not been impacted by the fires, the area is still "wildfire-prone."

Nonetheless, Mediate reports that McClintock said he believes "'it would be a mistake to grant money to the very same people responsible for the policies that have produced this disaster,' and added that he was willing to restrict aid to people in his own state because as a Californian, he was also 'one of the victims of these policies,' which he described as 'downright dangerous.'"

His colleague, Rep. Kevin Kiley's (R-CA) district, the news outlet notes, also has not been affected by the disaster, but has experienced "devastating fires" in the past.

Mediaite reports, "While he told Perticone that it was his 'priority' to rush aid funds to the victims 'as quickly as possible,' he was still amenable to imposing conditions like reforms to water and forest management policies."

Kiley told Perticone, "I think that there’s a broader question of the federal government’s role in oversight going forward with what’s going on in California, because it’s clear that a lot of things went wrong, and we’re going to need to — I think there’s gotta be some accountability."

Perticone's report is available at this link. Mediaite's report is here.