Newsom calls outgoing Homeland Security secretary 'Kosplay Kristi,' demands agency release $500M

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

03/06/2026 11:29 PM EST


With the ouster of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on the emergency officials to release aid for Los Angeles wildfire recovery. Newsom alleged Friday that Noem has not signed contracts to advance more than $500 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Los Angeles wildfire recovery. He also said that DHS should redirect to fire survivors any unspent dollars from a $220-million contract for a publicly funded ad campaign that featured Noem on horseback.

“Families in Los Angeles shouldn’t have to wait while she and Donald Trump play politics,” Newsom said in a statement. “Release the funding now and redirect those dollars to help communities rebuild.” Newsom poked the outgoing DHS secretary, calling Noem “Kosplay Kristi” and including with the statement a still photo of her riding a horse from what the governor said was a “taxpayer-funded vanity campaign.”

Under Noem, DHS implemented a policy that required her sign off for contracts over $100,000, a move that’s been widely panned by critics as delaying payouts for disaster recovery. Noem had defended the move as an accountability measure.

Newsom said that the policy has blocked existing FEMA funding to repair roads, rebuild schools and help prevent future disasters in Los Angeles. These dollars, he said, have already been approved unlike the state’s $33.9-billion request in long-term recovery funding that’s stalled in Congress.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/06/newsom-calls-outgoing-homeland-security-secretary-kosplay-kristi-demands-agency-release-500m-in-stalled-wildfire-funding-00817859

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Full headline: Newsom calls outgoing Homeland Security secretary ‘Kosplay Kristi,’ demands agency release $500M in ‘stalled’ wildfire funding

[FakeNoose]

1. Oh right, Noem has to sign off because it's for "accountability"

This is disaster relief funds that have ALREADY BEEN APPROVED, Kristi. You don't have to "account" for anything ... just get your mitts off the money and let California have it.

[underpants]

2. I guarantee there are enough controls in place

that that wasn’t needed. It was another “look at me” controlling tax payer money thing.

[SunSeeker]

3. Give us OUR money! In 2024, CA paid over $275 BILLION more than it got back from the feds.

California is a major "donor state," frequently sending over $80 billion more in federal taxes than it receives in federal spending. In fiscal year 2024, estimates showed Californians paid roughly $275.6 billion more than they received, with other reports citing a $17 billion to $101 billion gap depending on the year. https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/is-california-a-donor-state-heres-how-much-it-pays-to-the-feds-vs-what-it-gets-back/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20fact%20sheet%20from%20the,understated%20California's%20role%20as%20a%20donor%20state.

🤬

[C Moon]

4. They probably spent it or gave it away.

[twodogsbarking]

5. Jab 'em Gavin.

[Bluetus]

6. Claw back every penny from that rotten contract and put them all in prison.