Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Newsmax on Monday that California should not receive federal wildfire aid unless the state vows to change its ways.
"They got 40 million people in that state, and they are voting these imbeciles in office," Tuberville said on "The Chris Salcedo Show." "They are just overwhelmed by these inner cities woke policies with the people that vote for them."
The wildfires have killed 24 people since tearing through Los Angeles over the past week.
Tuberville said he feels bad for the Republicans in the state dealing with the state's liberal policies. The state would need to do things like building dams and storing water before Tuberville would send them money.
"They refuse to do it. They don't deserve anything, to be honest with you, unless they show us, they're going to make some changes," Tuberville said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday that leading officials in the Democratic-led state mismanaged water resources and forests in the Los Angeles area.
"It appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects," Johnson told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. "So that's something that has to be factored in.
"There should probably be conditions on that aid. That's my personal view. We'll see what the consensus is."
House Republicans have not yet discussed disaster aid to sections of California stricken by fire, Johnson said.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Sunday told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he expected to see "strings attached to money that is ultimately approved, and it has to do with being ready the next time, because this was a gross failure this time."
Information from the Reuters was used in this report
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