The Trump administration announced it approved disaster aid to address an estimated $1 billion in damage from anti-deportation riots that rocked Los Angeles in June on Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s watch.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will allow businesses affected by the riots that kicked off June 6 to apply for up to $2 million in loans, the agency said Tuesday. Newsom has continually shifted blame to President Donald Trump for violent mobs lighting fires and assaulting law enforcement in Los Angeles because Trump deployed troops to quell the lawlessness. (RELATED: Price Tag For LA Riots Keeps Climbing As City Faces Budget Implosion)
Demonstrators gather in front of members of the California National Guard and Customs and Border Protection, who stand guard outside the Federal Building as riots continue in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025, following days of unrest in response to federal immigration operations that saw clashes spread across downtown. (Photo by DAVID PASHAEE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“After weeks of no real solutions and inflammatory social media statements, Governor Newsom finally requested federal disaster relief to bail him out – again,” the SBA said. The SBA publicly admonished Newsom on June 9 to accept its disaster relief four days into the riots, saying he should “stop siding with criminal illegal aliens and start siding with law-abiding Americans.”
The SBA also previously offered disaster relief after wildfires broke out in the Golden State in January.
“Trump deliberately sowed chaos in Los Angeles — creating fear and disorder for political gain, so he can justify deploying troops and flex his power,” a Newsom spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “His authoritarian theater unlawfully deployed National Guard soldiers and added Marines to an already charged situation when they were unneeded.”
Newsom’s office told the DCNF that the funding was long overdue because Trump, not California’s governor, is responsible for the damage to Los Angeles.
“Finally, the federal government is doing the right thing to pay for the damages several small businesses have suffered from the Trump-imposed chaos campaign in Los Angeles,” the spokesperson said. “California businesses shouldn’t have to shoulder the burden of Trump’s authoritarian tirade.”
In addition to sending troops and federal funding to Los Angeles, the Trump administration is tracing funding behind the riots for potential criminal prosecutions.
“Governor Newsom allowed a mob to rampage Los Angeles — standing with violent rioters, paid protestors, and criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said Tuesday. “Despite an estimated $1 billion in damage, he refused federal relief for weeks, insisting that the riots were peaceful even as small business owners stood in the rubble.”
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia previously estimated at least $32 million in costs to the city from the riots, which included firefighter and police response, loss of tourism, property damage and other factors.
“Although the SBA has approved California’s disaster relief request and will begin delivering immediate aid to the innocent victims, Governor Newsom must take accountability for his state-sanctioned crisis — and stop playing politics with Americans’ livelihoods,” Loeffler said.
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