Summary
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that federal aid for California’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires, which have killed at least 24 and displaced nearly 200,000 people, should come with conditions, citing alleged failures by state and local leaders.
Johnson also hinted at tying aid to debt ceiling negotiations.
Other Republican leaders, including Senators John Barrasso and Ron Johnson, expressed similar views, blaming liberal policies for exacerbating the fires.
Critics denounce these positions as cruel, given the scale of destruction, with over 12,000 buildings lost and massive evacuation orders in effect.
Some of us here will be directly affected by Johnson’s debt ceiling concessions. How does it feel to be commoditized like this, to the point of your household becoming a bargaining chip?
You, personally, are worth no more to Johnson &co than the number of services Newsom is willing to cut (and thus how many citizens will be pressed) in order to meet Johnson’s demands.
That’s infuriating, and it flies in the face of humanitarianism. Slaps it right in the face.
e: I can’t spell