L.A. mayor, Trump discusses rebuilding after fire
President Donald Trump and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass debated when displaced residents could legally return to their properties to clean up debris after recent fires.
Los Angeles County, California – President Donald Trump and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had a brief discussion on how to deal with and recover from the Southern California wildfires.
On Friday, January 24, the president arrived at LAX to survey the aftermath of the 23,000-acre Palisades fire. Following the tour, a roundtable discussion was held with Los Angeles City and County leaders to discuss Southern California’s rebuilding efforts.
During the debate, Trump and Bass talked about each other and briefly clashed over the expected timeline for when evicted residents should be allowed back on their properties.
“We’re going to do everything we can to reduce regulations, speed everything up. So people can start the process right away,” Bass said during the meeting.
Trump to discuss wildfire recovery in LA
President Donald Trump crossed paths briefly with California Governor Gavin Newsom and then met with Los Angeles city and county leaders — including LA Mayor Karen Bass — to discuss recovery and rebuilding after the January 2025 fires. To think that it had devastated Southern California.
As the boss spoke, Trump interjected that some displaced residents had been told they would have to wait up to 18 months to start rebuilding.
“One thing we know is that they’re saying they’re not going to be allowed to start for 18 months,” Trump said of the 18-month timeframe.
“It won’t,” replied the boss. “First of all, we have to take care of getting rid of the hazardous waste, cleaning things up, so people can start working right away. And like you said, if someone had a house, they would be destroyed. .are going to rebuild basically the same way, maybe a little longer, they don’t really have to go through much of a process so I want you to know that we are working fast. We help you need.”
Trump then pressed the LA mayor on a clear timeline for when displaced residents can legally return to their properties — saying even a week is too long to wait for an evacuation.
“They want to start now. They want to start removing things that are not allowed to happen now,” Trump said.
In that brief exchange, the two did not find a middle ground for when the residents of Pacific Palisades could begin rebuilding. At Friday’s meeting, Trump said he was going to eliminate all federal permits needed to begin rebuilding.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was at LAX to personally greet Trump on Friday, was not invited to the roundtable.
