Rep. Garamendi Warns Trump: 'Don't Screw With California!'
*By Justin Chermol*
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) warned President Trump not to mess with emergency funding for California on Friday after the commander-in-chief threatened to cut off disaster-relief in the fire-ravaged state.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump suggested that California itself was to blame for the wildfires that killed 86 people and destroyed thousands of homes last year, and said he was considering pulling its FEMA funds.
"Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen," [the president wrote](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1083022011574747137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1083022011574747137&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F01%2F09%2Fdonald-trump-fema-california-wildfires%2F2523581002%2F). "Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!"
Rep. Garamendi responded to the threat on Friday, saying, "Mr. President, California is the most important economy in this nation,"
Garamendi told Cheddar Friday. "Don't screw with California. Do not harm people that have lost their home."
"It is wrong, it is immoral. Don't do it," he said.
The tweeted threat comes just as Trump's administration is considering diverting billions in unspent disaster relief funds to build the border wall that is at the heart of a political dispute that has shuttered the government. Trump is reportedly [looking to end the shutdown](https://www.apnews.com/c9539cdeaa394fc2a00277f876ff3e43) by signing an emergency declaration to order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the wall without congressional approval.
In California, that funding is earmarked to maintain levies to avert flooding and maintain reservoirs to prevent them from failing, Garamendi said.
"People are in danger," he said. "People need to recover from the disasters of a year and a half ago. So the president's going to take that money to build a border wall? No. He does not ー should not have the power to do that. We should be introducing legislation to make sure that he cannot do that."
The government shutdown will become the longest in U.S. history on Saturday. Nearly 800,000 federal employees hoping to pay their mortgage, rent, or bills received no paycheck on Friday as they are either working unpaid or on furlough.
"They should be madder than hell at President," Garamendi said.
President Trump and ranking members of his administration continue to tell Americans that both a humanitarian and national security crisis abound at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Garamendi says otherwise: "There's no crisis on the border."
And the proposed state of emergency an abuse of power, he said.
"We do not have, or should not have, an imperial president. But he would establish himself, crown himself literally, as though he was Caesar."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/dont-screw-with-california-congressman-garamendi-slams-trump-in-latest-standoff).
With COP26 kicking off, roughly 120 world leaders and delegates are in Glasgow, Scotland to hold climate talks this week. As experts continue to warn about the dangers of climate change, ESG investing is more important than ever.
Georges Archibald, Head of Apex Americas at Apex Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden expected to unveil details on a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for businesses in coming days.
This comes just days after The White House issued separate vaccine mandates for federal contractors across the country. Mark Kluger, Founding Partner, employment law firm Kluger Healey joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Later today House Republicans will grill Snap, Tiktok and Youtube on how their products affect the mental health of teenagers. It comes after a report revealed that Facebook's photo sharing platform, Instagram, can be harmful to teen's mental health. Rishi Bharwani, Director of Partnerships and Policy, Accountable Tech joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
As the White House and Congressional leaders work towards finalizing the legislative framework of the Build Back Better budget deal, paid family leave, one of the hallmarks of President Joe Biden's Social Safety Net agenda, still stands in flux. Molly Day, Executive Director, Paid Leave for the U.S. joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss why the finalization of this bill is imperative.
Marjorie Mesidor, Esq., Partner, Phillips and Associates, PLLC and Dr. Anthony Santela, professor of health administration and university covid coordinator at the University of New Haven join J.D. Durkin and None Of The Above to talk about the expected fallout from New York City's vaccine mandate.
Leaders around the world have come together to discuss plans to bring action towards the Paris Agreement along with solutions on how to solve the evolving climate change crisis at the COP26 Summit. President and CEO of Center for International Environmental Law Carroll Muffett, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and lead economist of the climate and energy program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined Cheddar to break down some of the key goals from the COP26 summit and why leaders must focus on the science of climate change instead of getting bogged down by petty politics and the fossil fuel industry. "The main thing they have to do, make sure we're cutting our emissions sharply within this decade because the science shows that we have to cut global emissions in half by 2030 if we're going to meet our goals of averting some of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change," she said.
Carlo and Baker cover the big races to watch on this off-cycle Election Day, the concrete pledges starting to come out of COP26, Jeffrey Epstein keeps causing CEOs to lose their jobs, and Ryan Murphy's TV hit that wasn't.
The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq begin November by not only ending Monday's session higher but with a record close as well. Melissa Armo, Founder and Owner of The Stock Swoosh, has her eye on major economic storylines and joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what role the news could play on Wall Street.
The UN climate change conference kicked off on Sunday with about 120 world leaders and delegates gathering in Glasgow, Scotland this week, as experts continue to warn about the harms of heightened emissions and the effects on climate change. The topic of ESG investing is expected to be a top priority at the summit. Jefferies global head of ESG and sustainability research Aniket Shah joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
