Would you explain your view that POTUS will use the Stafford Act? Just looked up what it is (wikipedia below). How is the Stafford act disaster funding different from the assistance that CA was getting before POTUS threatened to withhold funds?
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act)[1] is a United States federal law designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens. Congress's intention was to encourage states and localities to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, prepare for better intergovernmental coordination in the face of a disaster, encourage the use of insurance coverage, and provide federal assistance programs for losses due to a disaster.[2][better source needed]
The Stafford Act is a 1988 amended version of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. It created the system in place today by which a presidential disaster declaration or an emergency declaration triggers financial and physical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency[3] (FEMA). The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts. The Federal Response Plan includes contributions from 28 federal agencies and non-governmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross. It is named for Sen. Robert Stafford (in Senate 1971–89), who helped pass the law.
Congress amended it by passing the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, and again in 2006 with the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act.