Overview
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler met fire survivors in Pacific Palisades and promoted a new self-certification option to speed rebuilding.
- Executive Order 14377 empowers FEMA and the SBA to supersede local permitting, allowing construction to begin if an application has sat 60 days, with compliance verified by later inspections.
- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 5–0 to monitor federal steps and authorized County Counsel to sue to block any preemption of local land‑use authority.
- Zeldin said additional federal aid may hinge on state policy changes and criticized Newsom’s request as inflated, urging local governments to pursue funding outside the governor’s appeal.
- Local officials dispute White House figures of roughly 2,500 permits and fewer than 10 rebuilds, citing dashboards showing about 3,163 permits issued, 682 homes under construction and eight completed, with many residents stalled by insurance and capital shortfalls.