California Gov. Gavin Newsom quietly paid a visit to the Palisades last week to discuss federal funding for rebuilding the fire-ravaged community — as he continues to bicker with President Trump over disaster aid and is in the midst of a national book tour widely viewed as a pre-presidential campaign.
The governor’s office confirmed the Tuesday visit at the Ronald Regan American Legion Post 283, which serves as a recovery center for Palisades residents.
“At the invitation of the Palisades Long Term Recovery Group, the Governor met with leaders and listened to survivors to discuss the state’s continued support with recovery,” Tara Gallegos, Newsom’s spokesperson, told The Post.
“They discussed the Governor’s disaster request to the Trump administration, which has been ignored by Trump for more than a year, to provide communities with funding to accelerate and maintain recovery efforts.”
The center was open to the public during the visit, Gallegos said.
Locals at the meeting said they were “willing to provide current disaster-funding requests to the governor to present to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and to HUD” — in the hopes of breaking a funding stalemate between Newsom and the Trump administration, local outlet Circling The News reported.
The president has not yet made a formal appropriations request for fire aid to Congress, despite pleas from Newsom’s office.
After the Palisades and Eaton fires killed 31 people and destroyed roughly 16,000 homes and structures in January 2025, California submitted a request for roughly $40 billion in federal disaster aid.
Trump, however, announced an executive order to streamline permitting for rebuilding efforts in January, which he said would preempt local rules and speed up construction.
Newsom’s office blasted Trump’s action at the time, writing on X that “an executive order to rebuild Mars would do just as useful” — but then pleaded with the president to release federal aid to help communities pay for the extensive rebuilding efforts.
The lame-duck governor is currently conducting a national book tour to promote his new memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.”
