A California Republican state lawmaker on Thursday sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking for help with multiple crises facing Californians, including raging wildfires and an “escalating” housing crisis.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Southern California last week, after multiple wildfires prompted evacuations. One wildfire blazed through more than 20,000 acres and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.
Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher congratulated Trump on defeating Vice President Kamala Harris last week, and said GOP lawmakers in the state are hoping to work with the incoming president in his second White House term.
“As Republican Leader in the California State Assembly, I am reaching out to extend my congratulations on your recent victory and to ask for your partnership in addressing the significant challenges facing California,” Gallagher wrote. “Many Californians believe your leadership can help us tackle issues that have plagued California for too long.”
Gallagher said the state is embattled in a worsening housing crisis, unaffordable gas and energy prices, rising crime rates, and “devastating wildfires.”
“These issues require federal support, and I firmly believe that working together is the best way to deliver meaningful solutions for Californians,” he said. “While Governor Gavin Newsom wants to ‘Trump-proof’ California; Legislative Republicans want to partner with you to pursue real solutions.”
Newsom has called for a special legislative session next month that will focus on protecting people’s civil rights, like a right to an abortion and protections for illegal immigrants. However, the governor has also said he wants to try to work with the Trump administration.
“Our job, my job, is not to wake up every single day and get a crowbar and try to put it in the spokes of the wheel of the Trump administration,” Newsom said in a video posted to X the week of the election. “In that spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist, that’s how we want to proceed.”
Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.