California Sen. Adam Schiff agreed with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to cut red tape and speed up the government’s response to rebuilding Los Angeles communities ravaged by wildfires, in an interview Thursday.
“This idea that I’ve been hearing about speeding up the building permits here in California to rebuild faster – why don’t we do that all the time?” ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel asked Schiff.
“We should do that all the time,” Schiff said. “I think, actually, the path back to power for the Democratic Party is to show that we can get s— done again.”
Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday in an attempt to fast-track wildfire prevention projects. President Donald Trump blasted Newsom’s handling of the wildfire response in January.
The order suspends certain environmental regulations that would have delayed forest management projects and other wildfire prevention measures.
“This year has already seen some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and we’re only in March. Building on unprecedented work cutting red tape and making historic investments – we’re taking action with a state of emergency to fast-track critical wildfire projects even more,” Newsom said in a statement.
Schiff’s call for California to fast-track environmental cleanup and rebuilding efforts after fires devastated the state comes amid a movement of Newsom and other major Democratic Party political leaders in California making moves to the center.
In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie embraced government efficiency with a memo on Tuesday that directed city employees to return to the office at least four days a week.
Lurie has positioned himself as a common-sense Democratic Party leader, with Lurie spokesperson Charles Lutvak saying that “[b]ringing our workers back to the office will make our services more effective and responsive to our residents.”
“That is what San Franciscans expect and what Mayor Lurie will deliver,” Lutvak said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
