WASHINGTON — Gov. Gavin Newsom kept a low profile as he swung through the nation’s capital this week, holding meetings with a handful of lawmakers Friday on Capitol Hill as he renewed calls for billions in federal recovery aid following the Los Angeles fires.
For a governor who has spent recent weeks in the spotlight — trailed by cameras at the U.N. climate summit in Brazil last month and featured at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday — the muted Washington stop stood out. As he moved between offices on Friday, the halls were quiet, with many lawmakers already en route home for the weekend.
The governor’s office disclosed little before his trip about Newsom’s schedule in Washington, saying afterward that he met with five lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House committees on Appropriations, as well as Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks).
Newsom told The Times that the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied his request for a meeting, a setback that underscored the political friction with the Trump administration surrounding California’s $33.9-billion appeal for long-term disaster funding nearly a year after the devastating Los Angeles fires ignited.
The governor said his visit was meant to make “the universal case for support for recovery,” not just for California, but for other states that were hit with disasters, such as Texas and North Carolina.
“We’re getting to the point where we need to see action, and so that’s why we’re stepping up our efforts,” Newsom said as he left a meeting with Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), a tenured member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Newsom noted that the funding is vital for fire victims.
“They should not be revictimized through politics, or by politics or politicians,” Newsom said. “There’s nothing more American than being there for people in need. That’s foundational.”
Newsom did not say whether he attempted to request a meeting with the White House when asked by a reporter. The White House did not respond to a request seeking comment.
When asked if he thought his discussions with lawmakers had been successful, Newsom said he was glad to have been able to meet with “folks on the other side of the aisle,” and he characterized the meetings as an example of “remarkable graciousness.”
Newsom’s office said the governor also met with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-New York).
Disaster relief at stake
Newsom is urging the Trump administration to send Congress a formal request for $33.9 billion in recovery aid needed to rebuild homes, schools, utilities and other critical infrastructure destroyed or damaged when the fires tore through neighborhoods beginning Jan. 7.
The governor said there is bipartisan support in Congress for long-term aid. But, he said, the Trump administration has not advanced any recovery proposal since his initial request was filed in February. That request was for nearly $40 billion, but has since been decreased by what has already been paid out, according to a letter Newsom sent to Congressional leaders Wednesday.
“Back in January, the President looked me in the eye on the tarmac at LAX and promised me, and the people of LA, that he’d ‘take care of it’ as we rebuild and recover,” Newsom said in a statement Thursday. “That commitment isn’t being met, and instead he’s leaving survivors behind. It’s time for Trump to wake up and do his job.”
The fires burned thousands of structures across Los Angeles, displacing families and uprooting businesses.
In the first six months after the fires, California received reimbursement for direct response costs and more than $3 billion in individual assistance and small-business loans.
The governor’s visit to Washington comes as Republicans in the House and Senate have launched two congressional inquiries into California officials’ response to the Palisades fire and how organizations have distributed disaster relief funds to victims. As part of the congressional inquiries, lawmakers have requested a trove of records from dozens of agencies at the local, state and federal level.
Newsom has welcomed the congressional scrutiny, saying his administration has “embraced transparency because Californians deserve nothing else.”
Williamson indictment on spotlight
Newsom has kept a low profile since news broke that his former chief of staff Dana Williamson was arrested on federal corruption charges. Newsom has not spoken publicly about the indictment, besides an interview with the Sacramento Bee, where he described his reaction to the indictment as “real surprise and shock.”
The governor told the Bee how Williamson was placed on leave last November when she informed his office of the federal investigation. He said he “wasn’t privy to the details” and that his hope was that “it would be worked out.”
Asked by The Times on Friday during a three-minute interview whether he knew anything about the ongoing investigation, Newsom said, “I really don’t.” Newsom also said he has not been interviewed by the Department of Justice regarding the investigation.
Newsom has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Williamson’s attorney McGregor Scott, a former U.S. attorney in Sacramento, told The Times in November that federal authorities had approached Williamson more than a year ago seeking help with some kind of investigation of the governor himself.
Newsom was a featured speaker Wednesday at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, where he dodged questions about whether he will run for president in 2028, but was not asked about the indictment that has reverberated through Sacramento political circles.
Asked during the DealBook event about where the Democrats went wrong in the last presidential election, Newsom reiterated harsh criticism of his party.
“The party’s knitting itself back together,” Newsom said at the event. “We got shellacked in the last election, and there’s been a lot of forensic analysis, perhaps not enough, about what happened. Donald Trump crushed us in the last election.”
Newsom added that the issues with the Democratic party go beyond what went wrong with the passing of the baton between Biden and Kamala Harris.
“We have to be more culturally normal,” Newsom said. “We have to be a little less judgmental. We have a party that, I think, needs to design and develop a compelling economic vision for the future where people feel included, to reconcile the fact that if we don’t democratize our economy, we’re not going to save democracy.”
