Trump social media claim of using troops to force water flow is refuted by California

Last edited Tue Jan 28, 2025, 07:47 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA
Trump social media claim of using troops to force water flow is refuted by California


The Central Valley Project includes the Delta-Mendota Canal, left, in Firebaugh. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

By Clara Harter and Ian James
Jan. 27, 2025 10:49 PM PT

President Trump on Monday night heightened his battle with California over water policy by suggesting U.S. military troops arrived in the state to turn on pumps and send more water flowing -- something state officials quickly denied. ... On Monday evening, Trump wrote that the military "just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond," in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

The California Department of Water Resources responded in a statement: "The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful."

Trump's post came after he signed an order directing federal agencies to "maximize" water deliveries in California and "override" state policies if necessary, and following a longstanding debate with Gov. Gavin Newsom over the state's water management policies.

Trump has lambasted Newsom, saying he has held back water supplies in California and impeded the response to Los Angeles' recent wildfires. Newsom and state departments have repeatedly denied these claims, noting that there is a plentiful supply of water in Southern California.

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Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-27/la-me-trump-water-military

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Edited to correct bad link, which was my fault. I was posting from a phone.

I know that there's already an ongoing discussion of this in GD, but I wanted to post a link to a print account, not a series of tweets.

From highplsinsdem:

Trump posted at 11:12 ET tonight that he sent the military into California and they "TURNED ON THE WATER"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219954349