Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told Newsmax on Thursday that he's confident that the Pacific Palisades and other Los Angeles-area neighborhoods will build back better than they were before being destroyed by fires.
Zeldin made the remarks from the Palisades, where he joined myriad other federal agencies on Thursday leading the charge with local and state officials on Phase I of the removal of debris and hazardous materials from the burned-out sites.
Zeldin appeared on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" to discuss the process of rebuilding LA in the aftermath of California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom's visit with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Zeldin was asked if Trump was still planning to tether federal aid to reforms that he has demanded California make in the aftermath of the wildfires.
"Well, I'd have to defer to the president on how he's going to lead us through that strategy. And I'm sure that he is going to do an exceptional job with it," Zeldin told Schmitt.
"I will tell you this: Yesterday, President Trump called me while he was in the Oval Office with Gov. Newsom. And I could tell on the other side of that phone that they were trying to figure out how to work through as much as they could, state and federal government, to tackle these issues."
Trump last month threatened to withhold federal aid unless Newsom and other state officials changed the state's approach on its management of water, among other policy changes he demanded.
"President Trump has been outspoken on what needs to get done. He means business. He's done this once, and he wants to get every aspect of this next term, getting it right this time around," Zeldin said.
"So I'm confident that not just this process will come out the other side looking good, but hopefully, this community is going to be able to rebuild, and they don't have to worry about there not being the right mitigation measures from ... the forest management to water.
"This should never happen again. We need to be smart to make sure that doesn't happen."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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