Newsom to meet with Trump over LA fire aid, water

By Christopher Cadelago | 02/04/2025 04:14 PM EST

The White House visit will be the first by a high-profile Democrat with presidential aspirations of their own.

Donald Trump shakes hands with Gavin Newsom.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has pointedly called out President Donald Trump for spreading wildfire misinformation, but the Democratic governor has been uncharacteristically restrained about the president’s moves more broadly. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

SACRAMENTO, California — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently revived his relationship with President Donald Trump as he pushes for federal assistance for the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires, is traveling to Washington for Wednesday meetings with Trump and Republican officials.

Newsom’s aides confirmed he left the state midday Tuesday. The planned meetings at the White House and likely Capitol Hill follow what Trump and Newsom described as a cordial phone conversation in recent days — part of a breakthrough in their on-again, off-again dynamic that had effectively ended shortly before the president left office in 2021.

Newsom, a top Democratic surrogate over the 2024 campaign, invited Trump to tour wildfire damage in Los Angeles but was not consulted on the trip nor was he scheduled to attend. But his aides requested to meet briefly with Trump on the tarmac, where they embraced after Newsom thanked him for visiting and implored him not to withhold — or condition — federal disaster aid. Trump has been pressuring Newsom to send more water to Central Valley farmers and Southern California — and has even taken matters into his own hands.

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The White House visit will be the first by a high-profile Democrat with presidential aspirations of their own and follows the president’s sustained torrent of executive orders — moves that have sparked mounting criticism from the opposition party. Newsom, who is set to sign state legislation he called for to distribute $50 million for legal battles with the Trump administration, has pointedly called out the president for spreading wildfire misinformation, but the Democratic governor has been uncharacteristically restrained about the president’s moves more broadly.

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