White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has accused California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of misusing efforts to shelter illegal immigrants to instead rebuild areas of Los Angeles impacted by wildfires. Miller claimed that the same resources and time dedicated to immigration efforts could have been used to fully reconstruct the Palisades, which were devastated by fires earlier this year. The accusations come amid heightened tensions between the Trump administration and California officials, particularly after Trump criticized Newsom and Bass for their handling of the wildfires and later federalized National Guard troops in response to riots in LA that broke out in June, following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in the city.
Bass and Newsom attracted the ire of President Donald Trump in January after massive wildfires ravaged Los Angeles in January. Specifically, Trump accused Bass of ‘gross incompetence’ and said Newsom should resign due to his state’s response to the natural disaster. Altogether, Los Angeles suffered roughly $28.0 billion and $53.8 billion in property damage due to the fires, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s Institute for Applied Economics.
Meanwhile, Trump and the California leaders have continued to spar – particularly after Trump chose to deploy and federalize thousands of National Guard troops along with hundreds of Marines in response to riots in LA that broke out in June, following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in the city. In response, Newsom blasted the Trump administration for federalizing the National Guard, labeling the move an ‘unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.’
The Los Angeles City Council voted in November to establish Los Angeles as a sanctuary city, barring city resources and personnel from assisting with federal immigration enforcement like ICE. Miller also took aim at Bass in a separate post on X on Sunday, in response to an interview she conducted with the New Yorker, where she said that ‘no city should have to go through an unjustified federal seizure of power.’ ‘According to the Mayor of Los Angeles, her city is not part of the federal union, and she is free to import and subsidize infinity illegals,’ Miller said.
Spokespeople for Newsom and Bass did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. This ideological clash over immigrant policies and local governance has intensified with Miller’s public criticism, highlighting the deepening divide between Trump’s administration and the California leadership on key political and economic issues.