President Donald Trump’s meeting Friday with residents of the Pacific Palisades who were affected by the Palisades Fire and elected officials was one of the most productive public meetings in memory, producing specific commitments.
These bipartisan commitments can be summarized as follows — in what might be called the Palisades Fire Compact.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass committed:
- To allow residents to access their lots “within a week” (i.e. by Friday, January 31)
- To allow residents back into their homes “immediately” (with caveats, apparently, about public safety)
- To slash city regulations to allow residents to rebuild
- To ensure city departments work together to help rebuilding
- To clear debris as soon as possible
- To work together with the Trump administration
President Donald Trump committed:
- To appoint a Special Master, via Ambassador Richard Grenell, to oversee federal money flowing to California
- To waive all federal permits required for rebuilding
- To override local authorities such as the California Coastal Commission
- To sign an executive order to bring more water to Southern California
- To help the residents of Altadena and Pasadena as well as Pacific Palisades
- To work on additional water technology solutions to prevent fire damage
Trump placed Ambassador Grenell in charge, for now, of overseeing the implementation of these commitments. He also warned that residents should be allowed to begin building as soon as possible, to avoid losing faith in the idea.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.