U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Monday there should be conditions on federal aid for California as it addresses the impacts of massive wildfires.
Johnson, a Republican, said he intended to hold discussions with fellow representatives about how and whether to support California's recovery with federal dollars.
"I think there should probably be conditions on that aid. That's my personal view," Johnson said. "We'll see what the consensus is. I haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend because we've all been very busy, but it'll be part of the discussion."
Johnson criticized the response of California's state government, claiming it amounted to dereliction of duty.
"Obviously, there has been water resource management, forest management, mistakes, all sorts of problems, and it does come down to leadership, and it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty, and in many respects," he said. "So, that's something that has to be factored in."
It's not clear if Johnson would have enough support in the House for such proposals. Republicans hold a 219-215 majority in the chamber in this Congress. Of the 52 representatives from California, nine are Republicans.
Some of Johnson's comments echo those of President-elect Donald Trump, who last week criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom's handling of the disaster and propagated misinformation about response efforts.
President Joe Biden said Monday it was likely to take tens of billions of dollars to recover from the fires. He said Congress "needs to step up" to consider funding.
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Separately, Gov. Newsom has proposed the state spend an additional $2.5 billion on wildfire measures: $1 billion on recovery and $1.5 billion to prepare the state against future natural disasters.
Gov. Newsom expanded a special legislative session to consider his proposal.
