House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana on Sunday reiterated his belief that Congress should consider attaching conditions to aid for California following the wildfire disaster that destroyed many homes and parts of Los Angeles.

Newsweek reached out to the House Speaker’s office and Trump transition team by email on Sunday for comment.

The Context

California fire authorities over the past 10 days have worked to successfully contain all but the two largest wildfires – the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire, which as of Sunday afternoon local time stood at 52 percent and 81 percent contained, respectively. The fires spread rapidly due to unexpected Santa Ana winds blew the initial flames over land that had been in a drought since March 2024.

Each of those fires now rank among the most destructive fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: The Eaton fire, which has burned up 14,117 acres, has destroyed around 9,300 structures, making it the second-most destructive fire in state history; the Palisades fire, which has burned up 23,713 acres, has destroyed just over 4,300 structures, making it the fourth-most destructive fire.

However, Republicans have heavily criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for their response to the wildfires, blaming a number of factors that they attributed to Newsom’s policies, including an allegedly drained water reservoir and budget cuts to the fire department.

California authorities have ordered investigations into the various conditions that led to and exacerbated the wildfires.

What To Know

On Sunday, Johnson made an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, during which host Kristen Welker addressed comments he made last week where he suggested that any relief or aid to help recover and rebuild in the aftermath of the fire be given only on condition of addressing policy concerns.

When asked if he would commit to disaster relief for California without “strings attached,” Johnson said: “No, I won’t commit that, because we have a serious problem in California.”

“Listen, there are natural disasters,” Johnson said. “I’m from Louisiana. We’re prone to that. We understand how these things work, but then there’s also human error, and when the state and local officials make foolish policy decisions that make the disaster exponentially worse, we need to factor that in, and I think that’s a commonsense notion.”

“Listen, in California over the last couple years, they cut $100 million from forestry management,” Johnson said. “They cut, I think, almost $18 million from L.A.’s Fire Department, putting them into their other crazy priorities, and he had 117-million-gallon reservoir that was left empty for a year outside Pacific Palisades.”

“Those were decisions they made based on whatever their ideas were, but it made it worse, and everyone knew it would, and the risk was there,” he added.

When asked if he would consider linking relief to a measure requiring an increase in the national debt limit, Johnson said, “That’s one of the things we’re talking about every morning.”

What People Are Saying

When asked for comment, California Governor Gavin Newsom‘s office directed Newsweek to comments made during an interview with MSNBC political analyst Jen Psaki: “If that’s leadership, I have a different definition. I imagine it would be universally felt here. I’m not meeting Democrats, I’m not meeting Republicans, I’m not meeting Californians: I’m meeting American citizens desperate in need, and what they need is empathy, care, compassion, understanding.”

“They need support, not rhetoric, not strings attached,” Newsom said. “I met families who lost not only their home, but their business, their church, their sense of self, place, community,” adding, “That’s the face of leadership in the United States of America? Conditioning aid to the American people in need? Politicizing this tragic moment? So, I’ll spare any more commentary on it.”

DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd in a statement: “Mike Johnson is following Donald Trump’s lead to put tax handouts for billionaires ahead of desperately needed disaster relief for Californians. Americans recovering from a disaster shouldn’t be a bargaining chip for Trump and Johnson’s reckless policies. But instead of working to provide help and lower costs for working families, Trump and Johnson are already telling us they’ll only focus on themselves and their billionaire backers over what’s best for the American people.”

Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming told FOX Business host Larry Kudlow: “It is heartbreaking what we’re seeing happening right now in California, and we have our Wyoming national guard helping out there … but there’s going to help from the federal government, you’re absolutely right: There has to be accountability for that money. It cannot be a blank check.”

“What we’ve seen, and even the fire chief of LA County has said that they were let down by the mayor, the elected officials – I mean, gross negligence at the state and local level where the fire department had $17 million taken away from their budget, and they were already stretched too thin, and they used the money for social programs,” Barrasso said.

What Happens Next

California continues to fight the fires and will focus on completely containing the two remaining major wildfires while extinguishing the other fires they managed to control over the past 10 days.

The next Early National Signing Period is still 11 months away, but the USC Trojans have been off to a fast start and are showing no signs of slowing down. Lincoln Riley and the Trojans coaching staff had a busy week on the recruiting trail venturing around California as they look to add to its No. 2 recruiting class in 2026 cycle, per the On3 Industry Rankings. 

USC started off the week by extending an offer to Mission Viejo (CA) four-star receiver and Georgia commit Vance Spafford. The talented local product is the No. 13 receiver and No. 76 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings. The Trojans are late to the mix but will still have rest of the year to try and convince Spafford to play his college ball closer to home. 

Riley and USC running backs coach Anthony Jones stopped by Oaks Christian (CA) on Thursday to visit 2026 four-star running back Deshonne Redeaux. Oaks Christian is also the home of four-star cornerback Davon Benjamin. Riley was in attendance back in November to watch the two blue-chip recruits compete in the first round of the Division 2 CIF Southern Section playoffs. 

Redeaux is the No. 10 running back and No. 106 overall prospect and he is the No. 3 cornerback and No. 40 overall prospect in the 2026 On3 Industry Rankings. USC has been predicted to land both of the local products, but the Trojans staff will continue pulling out all of the stops. 

While Riley and Jones were in Westlake Village, several members of the Trojans staff were in Orange County to stop by two of the premier high schools in the country, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. Both schools are flooded with division one talent on a yearly basis. The only commit the Trojans currently have from either school is Bosco’s 2026 three-star athlete Joshua Holland. 

Riley made the trip to Northern California to visit Folsom (CA) five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons on Friday. The highly coveted recruit is the brother of USC freshman tight end Walker Lyons. 

The younger Lyons is the and No. 3 quarterback and No. 10 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings. USC has long been considered the favorite to land Lyons, but BYU, Oregon and Ole Miss remain in the mix. 

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“USC is high on my list,” Lyons told On3 in September. “There is a lot to like about USC. You have coach Riley. He has coached great quarterbacks that have won the Heisman Trophy and been drafted No. 1 in the NFL Draft. He is a great offensive mind and the defense is now playing at a different level.”

Riley also made a stop at Grant high school, one of the top programs in Northern California. USC defensive backs coach Doug Belk visited Loyola (CA) four-star cornerback commit Brandon Lockhart on Friday. He is one of two cornerbacks committed to the Trojans in the 2026 cycle, including Rancho Cucamonga (CA) four-star RJ Sermons. 

Last week, Riley and D’Anton Lynn made the trip down to San Diego County to visit Mount Miguel (CA) five-star athlete Brandon Arrington. The highly coveted two-sport star is being heavily pursued by Texas A&M and Oregon, but Riley is determined to what it takes to keep Arrington in Southern California. 

For years the Trojans have struggled to sign elite in-state talent but in the 2026 cycle, USC has made it a priority. With recruiting ramping up in the winter and spring months, Riley and his staff are pulling out all the stops to remain hot on the trail. 

“We always wanna make it priority No. 1 to recruit Southern California,” Riley said in October. “But we gotta do a great job evaluating the guys and getting the guys that fit SC. I do think in the 2026 class, there’s a number of guys right now that really fit. And I think too, we’re seeing results now that our new defensive staff’s had some time to start building relationships with these guys locally in the ‘26 class. I think that’s been very positive as well.”

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