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As Eton and the Palisades were furious in Los Angeles, a small number of Democrats and at least one columnist argued that they would punish California rather than help President Trump recover from destruction. Those fears were dramatically exaggerated if record-breaking property cleansing led by the administration’s Environmental Protection Agency were any indication.
On January 24th, Trump signed Executive Order 14181, urging the EPA to “promote” “contaminated debris and common debris” from zones affected by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, accelerating efforts to help survivors recover and rebuild lives.
At the time, the EPA interpreted it as meaning that the initial cleaning of dangerous goods must be completed by February 25th, when it reported the president’s ambitious month deadline. In fact, most estimates estimated that debris removal would take at least three months or more years for some properties.
“A ground-based EPA official described the deadline for a quick cleanup to CBS News as “bananas,” but another former EPA official said it would be nearly impossible to meet this deadline,” the CBS News report said.
White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz oversees interagency coordination related to disaster response efforts. “Just three days after he took office,” Waltz told me, “President Trump was on the ground in Los Angeles, but firsthand saw the devastation from the wildfires, he pledged a historical sense of urgency from federal agencies. Thanks to the president’s decisive action, the Trump administration led the cleansing of dangerous goods at a pace he had never seen before.”
It was still Hercules’ cleanup effort. For phase 1 cleanup, the crew cleared the facility by hand and looked for substances such as bleach, paint, weed killer, pesticides, batteries, propane tanks, and asbestos. Over 9,000 properties have been searched and cleared (4,852 units in Altadena and 4,349 units in Palisade), and over 1,000 lithium-ion batteries have been disposed of in just 28 days.
“We are extremely proud of the EPA’s dedicated men and women who worked tirelessly to complete the largest wildfire cleanup in our agency’s history,” said Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator, who was confirmed in the US Senate on January 29th five days after Trump signed the Los Angeles cleanup order.
For a framework of reference for how quickly the Trump administration moved in Los Angeles, consider what happened following the 2023 fire that destroyed Maui, a place with much less fortune. Phase 1 cleanup took 112 days.
EPA officials, working with California’s Bureau of Toxic Substances Control, have threw everything but the kitchen sink, essentially with the president’s cleanup order, as the Trump administration told me. The effort required over 1,500 people in about 50 teams “working reconnaissance, dangerous material removal and lithium-ion battery work.”
State officials also praise Trump’s efforts in LA. In a letter dated February 26th, California Environmental Protection Director Jana Garcia greatly thanked Zeldin for his “historical cooperation with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)” to achieve this important milestone.
“When we met in early February, previous experience suggested that phase 1 would take several months. However, the work was completed in a few weeks,” Garcia wrote.
The Army Corps of Engineers were able to begin phase 2 of cleanup – a more complicated effort is needed on 4,400 properties – with phase 1 ongoing, it should help residents speed up the work they need to rebuild.
The point is simple. The Trump administration has shown extreme governing capabilities to help Los Angeles recover from wildfires, with no indications of punishing a deep blue nation.
There is a broad, bipartisan agreement that the federal government and local officials are working together. And despite some clear political differences that the president is a particular California policy, it clearly has not affected the critical federal work that helps local citizens get back on their feet.
This was a massive test for Trump, and he handed it in flying colours. Pearl crowding and political fear from Democrats were clearly exaggerated.
Scott Jennings is a senior political commentator at CNN and a former special assistant to President George W. Bush.
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