Newsom calls on DHS to direct Noem ad campaign funding to Los Angeles fire recovery
Source: The Hill
03/07/26 4:16 PM ET
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to direct the more than $220 million that went to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s ad campaign that led to her firing toward the Los Angeles fire recovery.
“While Kristi Noem poured $220 million of taxpayer money into a political ad campaign featuring herself on horseback, more than $500 million in FEMA funding for LA fire recovery sat stalled on her desk,” Newsom said in a statement. “Families in Los Angeles shouldn’t have to wait while she and Donald Trump play politics,” he added. “Release the funding now and redirect those dollars to help communities rebuild.” The Hill has reached out to DHS for comment regarding Newsom’s request.
Newsom’s office accused Noem of “cosplaying on horseback” while failing to sign key recovery contracts that held up Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funding. Noem personally reviewed expenditures of over $100,000, which left “a long line of pending FEMA awards waiting only on her sign-off, including more than $500 million to help communities and survivors of the LA firestorm.”
“With Noem’s departure and bipartisan concern mounting over the delays, the administration should end this $100,000 dollar bottleneck, rely on FEMA’s professional review, and move these dollars to LA fire survivors and hard-hit rural communities instead of keeping them in limbo under a policy that has clearly failed to deliver faster or better oversight,” the statement reads.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5773212-newsom-calls-redirect-noem-ad-funds/
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