House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) didn’t mince words this week as he took aim at California Governor Gavin Newsom, accusing him of prioritizing flashy videos over addressing California’s escalating crises. The sparring began after Newsom posted a slickly produced video criticizing Johnson and congressional Republicans for proposing conditional federal aid to help California recover from the devastating wildfires that have consumed thousands of homes.
“Instead of making highly produced clap back videos with social media influencers, you should get to work helping Californians,” Johnson fired back on X (formerly Twitter). “You’re the leader of a state in crisis, and you should finally start acting like it.”
The conflict centers on the conditions tied to the federal aid proposed by Republicans. The aid package includes requirements for improvements to California’s wildfire preparedness, such as clearing out dead brush in high-risk areas and developing more robust water infrastructure. While these measures are common-sense fire prevention strategies to many, Newsom bristled at the idea of strings being attached.
Instead of making highly produced clap back videos with social media influencers, you should get to work helping Californians.
You’re the leader of a state in crisis, and you should finally start acting like it. https://t.co/ipKHFse0kU
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 16, 2025
In his video, Newsom accused Johnson and the GOP of politicizing disaster relief, pointing to California’s past generosity toward Republican-led states. “Never in California questioned whether or not we as taxpayers in the largest state in the Union should support the people of Louisiana at a time of emergency and need.
We never conditioned it,” Newsom said. He also highlighted the fact that California is home to “millions of Trump supporters” who now need the empathy and support of Republican leaders.
But Johnson and President-elect Donald Trump have focused their criticism on what they see as California’s mismanagement of its natural resources and disaster preparedness. Trump, in a fiery Truth Social post, blamed Newsom directly for the severity of the fires, accusing him of failing to sign a water restoration declaration that could have redirected excess water from the north of the state to drought-prone and fire-risk areas. “He is the blame for this,” Trump wrote. “No water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”
Johnson echoed Trump’s sentiments, calling out what he described as a pattern of poor leadership in the Golden State. “Obviously, there has been water resource management, forest management, mistakes, all sorts of problems, and it does come down to leadership,” Johnson said. He went on to describe the state and local leaders as “derelict in their duty,” adding that these failures must be addressed as part of any federal aid package.
For Newsom, this back-and-forth with Johnson and Trump fits into his broader strategy of casting himself as a defender of progressive governance against GOP criticism. But the video—which was clearly designed to put Johnson and congressional Republicans on the defensive—may have backfired. Instead, it handed Johnson an opportunity to highlight California’s ongoing struggles under Newsom’s leadership, from wildfire mismanagement to water policy failures.