The president-elect and Newsom have engaged in a public back-and-forth regarding the handling of the wildfires, which are expected to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. The fighting between the pair comes as Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill debate whether to attach disaster aid for the wildfires to a debt limit increase.

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Trump has repeatedly called on Newsom, whom he refers to as “Newscum,” to resign and alleged that the California governor is to blame for problems regarding the state’s water management.

Newsom has denied Trump’s assertions and launched an independent investigation into the drops in water pressure in local fire hydrants and reported unavailability of water from the Santa Ynez Reservoir. On Sunday, the California governor also suggested that Trump would try to block federal assistance for the disaster unilaterally.

“He’s done it in Utah. He’s done it in Michigan, did it in Puerto Rico. He did it to California back before I was even governor, in 2018, until he found out folks in Orange County voted for him, and he decided to give them money,” Newsom said during an interview on Meet the Press. “So, he’s been at this for years and years and years. It transcends the states, including, by the way, Georgia, he threatened similarly. So, that’s his style. And we take it seriously.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) joined Trump in criticizing the California governor, suggesting that Newsom and other state leaders must be held “accountable for getting us in this position.”

“There needs to be a robust discussion in terms of accountability as to how we got in this situation in the first place. You’re never going to eliminate the risk of wildfires, but you can minimize and start to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, which is what we’re seeing right now in California,” he told the Washington Examiner. “There’s been very little concern about the tinderbox of federal policies and NGOs that litigate few reduction projects. It’s wrong.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Washington Examiner officials must still determine the level of “need” before discussing additional funding bills.

“Hopefully, we can get it contained. It’s been a horrible tragedy, devastating impact on families all across the region, and no doubt there will be, I’m sure, a discussion about how to respond and what role each level of government ought to play in that process,” he said in an interview.

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Democrats, as expected, have lined up in opposing Trump and Republicans.

House Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-CA) told the Washington Examiner that it’s “completely inappropriate” for Republicans to be attaching conditions to wildfire aid.

“We should be focused on how we can help victims of natural disasters, and when Mother Nature hits, she doesn’t care about party affiliation or where people live,” he claimed. “We’re all Americans at the end of the day, and our focus should be on helping.”

“I’m new here, but I don’t believe conditions should be attached to disaster aid,” added Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA), a freshman lawmaker whose district has been heavily affected by the fires. “We need to help the Americans in California just as we’ve helped the Americans in North Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana during their time of need.”

Prolonged debate regarding wildfire aid could slow Republican progress toward passing legislation advancing Trump’s agenda. GOP leaders have already split into two camps, helmed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Thune, respectively, about whether Trump’s tax cuts, border security initiatives, and energy policies should be advanced separately or as one stand-alone bill.

“One bill, two bills — doesn’t matter to me,” the president-elect said of the divide while visiting Washington last week. “They’re going to work that out. But the end result is going to be the same.”

Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that Trump was planning to visit California to see the damage of the wildfires firsthand. Trump aides are reportedly planning a visit next week following Monday’s inauguration, but the Trump transition team declined to answer questions about a trip.

Trump’s expected visit to the Los Angeles area comes after Newsom said on Saturday that he invited the president-elect to visit Los Angeles but had not heard back from the president-elect’s team.

Trump, who will assume the Oval Office on Jan. 20, has also heaped blame on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, President Joe Biden, and other Democratic leaders over the response to the fires. But in doing so, Trump is drawing a partisan line in the sand, which could affect federal-state collaboration for the monthslong cleanup and recovery effort.

Two veteran Republican operatives with close ties to the Trump team suggested to the Washington Examiner that Trump is giving his voters “a new target” to focus on, with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris heading for the exits next week.

“Biden is gone. Nancy Pelosi is using a walker. President Trump needs to keep the disparate wings of the party focused and in line so that he can legislate his agenda as quickly as possible, so he’s just giving them someone to point at,” one strategist surmised, noting Newsom’s place on Democrats’ short list for 2028 presidential nominees.