Another Republican lawmaker has suggested that any federal disaster relief for California after the deadly wildfires will come with conditions.
Wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles killing at least 24 people so far and destroyed more than 14,000 homes, businesses, schools and other buildings.
Republicans have seized on the wildfires in the liberal state to criticize the state’s leadership and slam California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) who is widely expected to run for president in 2028.
On Monday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told Newsmax that Californians “don’t deserve anything” because voters in the state keep electing Democrats.
“Why should taxpayers in your home state of Alabama and my home state of Texas continue to bail out states that continue to vote for Democrats time and time again despite their continued record of failure?” host Chris Salcedo.
“We shouldn’t be,” Tuberville responded in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “They got 40 million people in that state and they vote in these imbeciles in office, and they continue to do it. And it’s just a very small part of them in that state that’s doing it. If you go to California, you run into a lot of Republicans, a lot of good people. And I hate it for them. But they are just overwhelmed by these inner city woke policies with the people that vote for them.”
He continued: “I don’t mind sending them some money, but unless they show that they’re going to change their ways and get back to building dams and storing water, doing the maintenance with the brush and the trees — everything that everybody else does in the country and they don’t do it — they don’t deserve anything, to be honest with you unless they show us they’re going to make some changes.”
Tuberville is the second GOP in as many days to suggest that federal disaster relief aid to California be conditional.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told CBS News on Sunday that Californians should expect “strings attached” to money that is approved for wildfire recovery efforts.
Last week, another Republican Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) called for federal disaster aid to be withheld from California until the state implements Republican proposals on land management.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has also said that aid to California “should probably have conditions.”
