President Donald Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order directing the federal government to take a leading role in rebuilding parts of Los Angeles devastated by catastrophic wildfires, citing what his administration described as prolonged failures by California and local Democratic leadership, as reported by The New York Post.
The order targets rebuilding delays following the January 2025 Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, which destroyed entire neighborhoods, killed dozens, and left thousands of residents displaced.
Trump signs executive order for feds to take over LA’s ‘nightmare’ wildfire rebuild in huge boost for victims: ‘Get our family back home’ https://t.co/5qSPp1lvgi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 27, 2026
Speaking in an exclusive Oval Office interview with The California Post, Trump said the federal government must intervene to break what he described as a paralyzing permitting backlog.
“I want to see if we can take over the city and state and just give the people their permits they want to build,” Trump said.
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According to figures cited by the administration, the fires destroyed an estimated 16,000 structures.
Yet city and county officials have issued roughly 2,600 rebuilding permits, leaving fewer than 15 percent of destroyed homes approved for reconstruction more than a year later.
Trump directly blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for the delays, calling the process a “nightmare” driven by “bureaucratic malaise.”
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The seven-page executive order is designed to preempt state and local permitting requirements and allow federal agencies to accelerate rebuilding efforts.
Under the order, the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration will issue regulations enabling builders who receive federal funds to self-certify compliance with health, safety, and building standards through a federal agency.
Federal requirements are to be expedited.
FEMA is also instructed to review how California has used nearly $3 billion from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and to audit whether funds were awarded arbitrarily or contrary to law.
Trump said his decision followed a tour of fire-damaged areas with first lady Melania Trump shortly after the disaster. He said he was stunned that construction had barely begun a year later.
Shortly after beginning his second term, Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency to complete hazardous materials cleanup from the wildfires within 30 days.
The EPA finished the largest wildfire cleanup in its history in 28 days, clearing the way for debris removal.
Impressed by the response, Trump said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will oversee implementation of the new order.
“Lee is so competent,” Trump said. “I can’t imagine anybody could have done it better than him.”
🔥🚨 BREAKING: President Trump BOMBS Mayor Bass in Los Angeles for NOT assisting the people who want to rebuild their homes after the fires.
"We took 20,000 houses, and Lee Zeldin, the toughest permit is from the Federal Government." "Within two weeks, every single permit was… pic.twitter.com/TMmo6gXZPA — The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) January 20, 2026
Residents affected by the fires welcomed the federal intervention. Pacific Palisades resident Jessica Rogers, who lost her home and income, said state and local governments had failed.
“We’re so desperate. We really need the help. We cannot do this on our own. Our state’s not capable, our city’s not capable, this is not something that requires a village, it requires the nation. We need our federal government to come in,” Rogers said.
“The city of Los Angeles is completely broke, incapable of managing their own city, and they cannot possibly be tasked with this disaster on their own,” she added.
Another displaced resident, Nina Madok, credited federal agencies with pressuring local officials to accelerate cleanup timelines.
“They moved that to six weeks,” Madok said, referring to debris removal initially projected to take up to a year.
The Palisades and Eaton fires burned nearly 40,000 acres and officially killed 31 people, though a public health study published last year linked the disaster to 440 deaths.
Fewer than a dozen homes have been rebuilt in Los Angeles County since the fires erupted on Jan. 7, 2025.
The order sharply criticizes state leadership, calling the response “one of the greatest failures of elected political leadership in American history.”
Newsom spokeswoman Tara Gallegos responded by calling Trump “an old clueless idiot” and accused him of lacking “leadership or compassion for this community.”
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