U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order Sunday directing the federal government to override California’s water-management practices to enhance firefighting efforts. This follows Trump’s visit to wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles.
Trump claimed, without evidence, that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials withheld northern California water needed to combat the fires. His order mandates the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to allocate more water and hydropower through the Central Valley Project, potentially overriding state and local laws.
However, a spokesperson for Newsom dismissed Trump’s claims, stating they wouldn’t have impacted firefighting efforts. Los Angeles sources most of its water from different regions and hasn’t faced shortages. Dry hydrants in some areas were attributed to infrastructure limitations, not water scarcity.
“Trump is either uninformed about California’s water system or deliberately misleading the public,” said Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos. “There’s no magical spigot to instantly supply water for wildfires.”
The executive order also directs the White House budget office to explore attaching conditions to federal aid to ensure state compliance.
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