Trump Orders Military Intervention
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States Military entered the Great State of California under emergency power and “turned on the water” flowing from the Pacific Northwest and beyond in the steps necessary to boost the state’s firefighting capabilities.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!”
Trump Orders Military Intervention and the order builds on Trump’s day-one declaration that the US is facing an energy emergency by instructing federal officials to fast-track exemptions, allowing for the waiver of protections under the Endangered Species Act. This applies to a network of dams, reservoirs, and other facilities that irrigate farmland throughout California’s Central Valley and provide water to millions of people, as reported by Bloomberg.
Why Trump’s action is receiving criticism?
Trump has zeroed in on the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that lives in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary, blaming its protections for dry fire hydrants and sprinkler systems in Los Angeles, said the report by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reported that while some fire hydrants ran dry, officials said that resulted from dropping water pressure — not regional water shortages. A key reservoir in the region had been drained for repairs, and storage tanks failed to keep pace with the demand from battling multiple blazes.
Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, called the premise of Trump’s order false. Trump Orders Military Intervention “California continues to pump as much water as it did under the Trump administration’s policies, and water operations to move water south through the Delta have absolutely nothing to do with the local fire response in Los Angeles,” Gallegos said by email, as reported by Bloomberg.
“It’s just idiotic to keep scapegoating endangered salmon and smelt and fixate on gutting the Endangered Species Act when it had nothing to do with the LA wildfires,” said Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
Trump cast his moves as common-sense steps to unlock much-needed resources. “I don’t know what’s controversial about sending millions of — sending millions and millions of gallons of beautiful fresh water from the Pacific Northwest and further up than even that into an area that’s bone dry,” he said Friday.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)