JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called out Democrats on Friday for seemingly pushing “more regulations” as California residents continue efforts to rebuild after devastating wildfires.
Los Angeles County was hit by massive wildfires in January, destroying thousands of homes and causing at least $250 billion in damages. While visiting employees in Pacific Palisades who had worked at a Chase branch that burned down, Dimon told host Elex Michaelson that the state needs better regulations when asked if California’s leadership had learned any lessons from the disaster. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Steve Hilton Has A Message For Those Who Think It’s ‘Impossible’ To Save California)
“The reason we’re here is to come look at the Palisades, look at our branch, thank our people here, understand the issue a little bit better, thank our people for what they did,” Dimon said. “We did a town hall this morning. You know, it’s devastation and we want to be a part of rebuilding it. You learn what’s going on. I think it needs a lot more work and a lot more help.”
“I changed the name of Red Tape to Blue Tape because it’s the Democrats who seem to want more and more regulations. We need good regulations,” Dimon said. “We need good food. We need good financial assistance. It’s just not more, more and more. You see it in everything, permitting and licensing.”
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During the fires in both Pacific Palisades and Altadena, Democrat leadership — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — faced backlash from residents who questioned why the state wasn’t better prepared. Following the destruction, many residents were blocked from returning to what was left of their homes as the National Guard stepped in.
Despite pleas to go back, Bass spoke about a slow return for Los Angeles homeowners. However, during a roundtable in January, President Donald Trump defended Palisades residents and demanded they be allowed to return.
“There are lessons to be learned. And whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, you should be saying, I want an efficient government. Even the Palisades, if you want to get this built, you need, I would have a Palisades rebuilding building with everyone in the room, literally,” Dimon said. “I’d have it right here. I have sanitation, fire, police, roads, insurance, local, state, federal, government in the room with charts. Because it’s a huge management problem. And government doesn’t put top people who can run projects into management. It’s too often politicians or academics who’ve never run anything.”
Early warnings in January suggested that the state’s Democrat-backed regulations surrounding insurance could slow down homeowners and businesses trying to rebuild. Since the fires, the California Senate Republican Caucus issued a 15-page report following the fires, calling out years of mismanagement under Democratic leadership and pointing to what they described as “missed opportunities” or “negligence” by the Democratic supermajority.
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