Housing executive Mauricio Umansky says California needs to work with the federal government to help Los Angeles rebuild.
Real Estate executive Mauricio Umansky said California officials need to work with the federal government to help people in wildfire-ravaged areas rebuild, and that this is not the time to fight President Trump.
“This is the time to put politics aside so that Los Angeles can be rebuilt,” Umansky told FOX Business. “This is not the time for our state government to get political and … start standing up to Trump.”
Umansky’s real estate company, The Agency, represents a portfolio of homes and properties for sale around the world. However, many of its customers are in areas hit hard by the wildfires that broke out earlier this month in Los Angeles County.
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Umansky said the situation is difficult for families who have lost everything.
His ambassadors, some of whom had lost their homes, were working around the clock to find a place for everyone. But it was far from easy.
“One of the most difficult things is that there are 10 applicants in one house, so nine are rejected,” he said. “When you think about that, and these are all the people who lost their homes, so … their stress is crazy.”
An aerial view of the sun rising outside the homes burned in the Eaton Fire on Jan. 21, 2025, in Altadena, California. (Photos by Mario Tama/Getty/Getty Images)
Umansky said people are moving to the city, and that many of them want to stay close to home. However, there are many others who go up north or leave the state.
“We have displaced thousands and thousands of people. And so it will be very difficult,” he said.
Umansky said it’s too early to understand what things will look like in terms of how people will rebuild, but he knows that governments at the state and federal levels will need to work together to do it.
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“We want answers, I don’t think the government has done a good job of making people aware of how things will look like,” he said, adding that residents are still struggling to understand how they work. they will get insurance.
Firefighters have been battling the devastating blazes in Southern California for weeks, and some are still burning.
They need to put their ego aside, politics aside,” he said. “We will need federal money. We will need the country’s money.
I Hughes Fire, first reported Wednesday morning, was located in the unincorporated community of Castaic in northwest Los Angeles County. It quickly spread due to strong winds that attacked firefighting efforts.
An aerial view of houses burned in the Eaton Fire on Jan. 19, 2025, in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) / Getty Images
Since the wildfires started on Jan. 7, Gov. California Gavin Newsom and Trump were at odds. Newsom has faced intense criticism over the state’s response to the Los Angeles fires. The governor of California welcomed Trump on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday after the president disembarked from Air Force One.
President Donald Trump greets California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he arrives in areas affected or destroyed by wildfires in southern California, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis/Reuters)
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Newsom also slammed Trump’s criticism, telling NBC News’ “Meet The Press” earlier this month that “Misinformation and disinformation is not helping any of us.” Meanwhile, Trump, a long-time critic of California’s government, recently lashed out, even suggesting that California may not receive government aid unless it changes certain policies, including its water management.
Flames from the Hughes Fire burn a hillside in Castaic, northwest Los Angeles County, California, on January 22, 2025. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
While Newsom signed an aid package that provides $2.5 billion for recovery efforts as wildfires continue to sweep through parts of Southern California, Umansky said there is “no question,” the state will need federal assistance.
“They have to put their egos aside, politics aside,” he said. “We will need state money. We will need state money.”
The state must not fight Trump, he said.
“When I say we’re not going to fight him, I mean … he’s going to have ideas. We’re going to need the help of the federal government. Like, there’s no question about that,” he said.
Anders Hagstrom of Fox News contributed to this report.
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