LA Mayor Credits Trump on Fire Aid, Stays Wary on Immigration

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is navigating one of her city’s most challenging periods in decades. She’s facing a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall, the long recovery from January’s wildfires, and preparations for two of the world’s largest sporting events — the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, the former Democratic Congresswoman credited federal agencies for their swift response to the deadly wildfires. However, she acknowledged concerns over how the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown could affect L.A.’s workforce — including the manpower needed to help rebuild the Pacific Palisades — and the wider community.

She also dismissed fresh criticism from her 2022 mayoral rival, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, who publicly questioned her leadership in an opinion piece this week.

Bass spoke on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, as she gears up her reelection campaign for next year. The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

You need money to rebuild after the fires. Trump has previously demanded concessions in exchange for money. Are there any red lines, such as him ordering an end to sanctuary city, LGBTQ or environmental policies?

I wouldn’t sit here and say: This is my red line. But what I can say is that, so far, the administration has been great, continuing the 100% reimbursement from FEMA and basically flooding the area with the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA. That is why we are on record as having the fastest recovery that has happened in our recent history. So I give credit where credit’s due.

Do you feel like you need to play nice and sort of cooperate with the Trump administration?

I have a long history, ever since I’ve been in public office, of working across the aisle. I don’t see any difference now. I worked with the first Trump administration on, of all things, criminal justice reform and on Africa trade policy. He has appointed a number of my former colleagues who have been making the rounds coming out to LA, and I have been re-establishing those relationships. So I will approach this administration like I’ve approached my life in the state legislature and in Congress.

The Trump administration has threatened mayors in Denver and Chicago, including with arrest if they continue with sanctuary policies. How is their immigration agenda playing out in LA?

Our law enforcement department had a policy that was put in place 45 years ago around not cooperating with immigration officials, but it was done completely from a perspective of public safety. It has been a long-standing policy. There have been some isolated arrests by ICE. There has has not been a big raid or a rounding up of anybody.

Do you have concerns that there’s an action coming down the line?

Yes, concerned, absolutely. I mean, we’re a city of immigrants and of course, there’s concern. And there’s also the PTSD from the first administration, where you had a situation where kids wouldn’t go to school because they were afraid to leave their parents, and parents wouldn’t go to work. But look at our city and how our cities function. Just take the wildfires for a minute. We’ve got to get the rebuilding done. We already have a labor shortage, but if the workforce was scared, that would really inhibit the building. And I believe that the administration is very committed to us continuing to be on record with the fastest recovery and rebuilding.

A lot of the cuts that you’re proposing in the upcoming budget are to the police department. Do you think the city is going to have enough cops to be a safe place, especially with these big sporting events, like the 2028 Olympics and next year’s World Cup games?

Let me just tell you that, minus any cuts today, our police department is not large enough for the city. I mean, we have 3.8 million people and we have a police force of about 8,700. Chicago with 2 million has a police force of 12,000. However, to have the games, it would not be just dependent on the LAPD. These are regional efforts, and so everybody would come together.

As far as street maintenance and the cleanliness of the city — is there going to be enough money to clean up?

We are absolutely going to have to do that. I view the next 14 months as our trial, because the World Cup will give us a practice in terms of what it will mean to welcome the world. And so when it comes to street repair, graffiti removal, landscaping on the highway, all of those infrastructure issues are very, very important. We’re looking at how we deal with that now.

Rick Caruso published an opinion piece saying the city suffers from a failure of leadership. Your response?

I’m just deeply disappointed that we would engage in that type of political intrigue when the city is still suffering, when the people in the Palisades are still grieving and dealing with trauma. I think of any time, we should rise above that and focus on moving the city forward and getting the rebuilding done. I have no interest in engaging in a back and forth about that.