President Donald Trump visited Southern California on Friday to tour the damage done by the ongoing wildfires in the state, where he held a press conference with local officials. Earlier in the day, Trump reiterated that he wants federal disaster relief to be conditional, but this time he made two specific demands.

Why it matters: Blaming the fires on California’s liberal policies, President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders have proposed attaching assorted conditions to federal disaster aid — a move that, if taken seriously, threatens to delay recovery efforts.

GOP Congressman Darrell Issa is introducing federal legislation meant to clear up the red tape facing firefighters in California in the wake of the deadly southern CA fires.

The unusual debate puts California’s Republican lawmakers in a potentially perilous position, stuck between suffering constituents and the president-elect’s desires. And it presents another test of congressional GOP loyalty to Trump.

It will be hard for the president to revoke FEMA funding. But a GOP-led Congress could slow down the region’s recovery.

Southern California lawmakers on both sides of the aisle largely agree: No conditions on wildfire aid.

The Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act calls for changes to how FEMA prepares for disasters, by increasing funding and giving priority to applicants in hardest-hit communities. It would also require a central database to consolidate information collected from all levels of government during disaster responses.

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All the talk about attaching conditions to California’s federal disaster aid have placed the state’s Republican members of Congress in a quandary.

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It will be hard for the president to revoke FEMA funding — but a GOP-led Congress could slow down the region’s recovery.

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