Gavin Newsom promised wildfire survivors he would rebuild California "with no strings attached."
Now we know what he did with the money instead.
What Newsom did with that money – and who he gave it to instead – will make your blood boil.
How $14 Million of the $2.5 Billion Relief Fund Got Diverted to ICE Protest Response
Newly released California Department of Finance records tell the story in black and white.
Of the wildfire response and recovery fund, $12.8 million went to deploy California Highway Patrol officers to anti-deportation protests in downtown Los Angeles last summer.
Another $1.5 million went to the Governor's Office of Emergency Services for contracts to "aid and support local law enforcement amidst nationwide demonstrations."
Los Angeles became the epicenter of violent anti-ICE demonstrations in June 2025, after the Trump administration launched deportation raids targeting illegal aliens in and around the city.
Organized groups overwhelmed local law enforcement on a near-nightly basis. Hundreds of arrests followed.
Newsom tapped the disaster fund – money earmarked for families living in cars in Altadena – to keep his streets clear of the mobs protecting the people Trump was trying to deport.
The same fund Newsom announced with this line: "Unlike MAGA Republicans in Washington who talk about delaying relief for political purposes, California is supporting our people with no strings attached."
Eaton Fire Victims Are Living in Cars While $895 Million Sits Untouched
Here is the number that should end Newsom's political career.
At least 60% of the initial $1.5 billion relief budget – roughly $895 million – has not been spent.
Not delayed. Not awaiting approval. Sitting there, unallocated, while fire survivors are "still living in cars back and forth," according to Altadena fire survivor Zaire Calvin, who spoke to NBC Los Angeles in May.
The state has distributed just $605 million of the $2.5 billion relief package in sixteen months. A combined $37 million reached the LA City and County fire departments. The $3 million set aside for small businesses destroyed in the inferno represents a fraction of what Newsom spent managing the rioters.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger told NBC Los Angeles on June 4 that the unspent money could still be critical for rebuilding Altadena. A year and a half later.
Newsom Built This Fund on a Lie He Just Got Caught Telling
When Newsom signed the $2.5 billion relief package in January 2025, he said it would "jumpstart recovery" and "expedite" emergency response. He got on camera for the families. He made it personal.
His office now says the fund was "specifically designed as an advance of funds for FEMA reimbursable projects."
That explanation requires voters to believe that managing anti-deportation protesters qualifies as a FEMA-reimbursable wildfire recovery expense.
Read the actual legislation and that requirement is not there. The California Assembly bill makes no mention of a federal reimbursement limitation.
The fund's allowable uses, as written in state statute, "include, but are not limited to" the listed public safety functions. Newsom's team invented constraints that do not exist in the law they passed.
What Gavin Newsom Actually Thinks of Wildfire Victims
Wildfire survivors are living in their cars. Anti-ICE mobs got paid police escorts with disaster money. Newsom lectured Washington about strings-attached relief while writing checks to the crowds trying to stop Trump's deportations.
Newsom chose the rioters over the victims. The finance records prove it.
The people of Pacific Palisades and Altadena did not vote to fund the resistance.
Newsom made that decision for them.
Sources:
- Mia Cathell, "Newsom's wildfire relief fund diverted millions toward managing anti-ICE riots," Washington Examiner, June 2, 2026.
- Eric Leonard, "Much of Newsom's $2.5B wildfire relief package still untouched, records show," NBC Los Angeles, May 28, 2026.
- Sarah Alegre, "Los Angeles wildfire recovery enters second year as frustration and uncertainty linger," Fox News, January 11, 2026.
- KFI AM 640, "Newsom's $2.5B Wildfire Relief Fund Largely Unused," May 29, 2026.