[Executive Order]

Trump moves to take over Los Angeles wildfire recovery from local and state authorities

In an unprecedented decision, the president issued an executive order to strip permitting authority for rebuilding from local officials and hand it to the federal government.

Jan 27 2026

LOS ANGELES — President Trump is pushing to take over wildfire recovery in Los Angeles.

Trump signed an executive order Friday, clearing the way for the federal government to strip authority from the state and local governments to permit the rebuilding of homes and other structures destroyed in the January 2025 fires.

“I want to see if we can take over the city and state and just give the people their permits they want to build,” Trump told the California Post when he signed the order.

The president’s move is an unprecedented incursion by the federal government into disaster recovery. Issuing permits for home rebuilding have long been under the control of individual cities and counties, and it’s unclear how the order would affect the ongoing process.

The order also is the latest salvo in the fight between Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom, one of the chief antagonists of the administration.

About 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures were wiped out in the Palisades and Eaton fires, which leveled the coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood, the foothill community of Altadena and areas surrounding both of them. According to data from the affected jurisdictions, there have been about 4,700 applications to rebuild with 2,000 approved. So far, the pace of construction is in line with recovery from other recent major wildfires in California where it’s taken years to rebuild communities.

The president’s order calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration to consider new regulations to preempt local and state permitting rules and allow builders to certify to a federal agency that they’re in compliance with health and safety regulations to receive approval to build.

Some survivors have complained about red tape in the permitting process, but local governments are approving projects in fire zones faster than normal. More prominent challenges to rebuilding are about money. Survivors are fighting with their insurance companies over payouts and, for those affected by the Eaton Fire, are awaiting resolution to litigation with Southern California Edison, a private utility whose transmission lines were a likely cause of the blaze.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/president-trump-moves-to-take-over-la-wildfire-recovery-00749600

Executive Order Directs Override of LA Wildfire Permitting Delays

Jan 27 2026

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to override state and local permitting barriers that the administration says have stalled rebuilding efforts in Los Angeles neighborhoods devastated by wildfires a year ago, the White House reported Tuesday.

The order targets reconstruction delays in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon areas, where thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed in fires that burned nearly 40,000 acres.

The White House places responsibility on California and Los Angeles officials for failing to prevent the fires, respond effectively once they began, and allow rebuilding to proceed.

In the order, Trump said state and local governments failed to maintain forests, water infrastructure, and evacuation systems, then imposed "overly burdensome, confusing, and inconsistent permitting requirements" that have prevented residents from rebuilding despite the availability of federal aid.

The administration contrasted its actions with those of former President Joe Biden, saying debris removal did not begin until Trump took office and issued an emergency order in January 2025.

According to the White House, the federal government cleared more than 9,500 properties and removed 2.6 million tons of debris in six months.

Under the new order, the Department of Homeland Security, acting through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Small Business Administration are directed to consider regulations that would preempt state and local permitting requirements found to impede the use of federal disaster funds.

In place of local approvals, builders could be required to self-certify compliance with health and safety standards to federal officials.

Proposed regulations must be published within 30 days, with final rules issued within 90 days.

The order also directs federal agencies to expedite environmental, historic preservation, and natural resource reviews, including those required under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, to speed reconstruction while maintaining public safety standards.

Trump further ordered FEMA to review and audit nearly $3 billion in unspent Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds awarded to California.

The audit will examine whether projects were completed on time, whether funds were used as approved, and whether they reduced wildfire risks.

Depending on the findings, FEMA may impose future grant conditions or seek to recover misused funds.

The administration said the actions are necessary to ensure federal disaster assistance is delivered "swiftly, effectively, and without obstruction" when state and local governments fail to enable recovery.

The order does not create new legal rights and will be implemented subject to existing law and available appropriations.

The order was signed by Trump on Jan. 23, the announcement states.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/trump-executive-order-california/2026/01/27/id/1243747/