Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) told Larry Kudlow on Fox that conditioning federal disaster aid made sense in the case of the Los Angeles wildfires because California is a “Marxist regime” that doesn’t deserve unconditional help.
Tenney’s notion has broad support among Republican legislators, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has also indicated that any California aid be conditioned on as yet unspecified requirements.
Tenney’s push to condemn California Democrats — and those in her own state, which she likened to the “disaster” of California — characterized the Golden State as ungenerous and mired by self-interest, especially when it comes to helping other states in times of need.
Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) is strenuously refuting Tenney’s accusation. After Tenney said that California politicians wanting disaster help “weren’t concerned” about helping disaster-stricken areas in Florida and North Carolina after recent hurricanes, Lieu called Tenney out, saying her assertion is false.
“Last month disaster aid was included in the CR that helped disaster victims in states including North Carolina, Florida, and Oklahoma,” Lieu wrote. He added that “more Democrats voted for the bill than Republicans.”
Dear @RepTenney: Last month disaster aid was included in the CR that helped disaster victims in states including North Carolina, Florida, and Oklahoma. More Democrats voted for the bill than Republicans. We cared and helped because we are all Americans. Please stop your bullshit. https://t.co/f7TOGBYZPx
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 15, 2025
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation sent $352.6 million in Emergency Relief to North Carolina and Tennessee, in what USDOT described as “the latest installment of funding from the Emergency Relief program in addition to $167 million provided to North Carolina and Tennessee for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.”
NOTE: Liberal Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has written recently about how California, paying more than it receives from the federal government, consistently subsidizes disaster relief — and much else — for less wealthy states.
Krugman called it “wrong and shameful” that red state politicians are now threatening California in its time of need. (Tenney’s state, New York, is a blue state, though she represents a more rural and conservative district.)
