Reps Lieu, Brownley, Sherman Denounce Trump’s Threat to Revoke FEMA Support for CA Wildfire Victims

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 -- Reps. Ted Lieu, D-California, Julia Brownley, D-California, and Brad Sherman, D-California, issued the following joint statement:

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Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County), Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) issued the following statement in response to President Trump's tweet threatening to cut off federal money to fight California wildfires.

"Trump's threat to withhold FEMA support for California wildfire victims demonstrates a level of malice he seems to reserve only for Americans who live in California.

"He knows that the majority of Californians have rejected his caustic agenda but that doesn't mean our wildfire victims are undeserving of federal support. Blaming the fires on our forest management programs misses the fact that the Woolsey Fire, which devastated parts of our districts, was not a forest fire.

"Additionally, the federal government oversees the majority of forests in California, not the state. Trump is lying, which is never something we should accept from our president, but it's particularly reprehensible when he lies to justify hurting disaster victims.

"What he is proposing is illegal under the Stafford Act, and we urge him to retract his tweet."