Real estate mogul Mauricio Umansky says California needs to work with the federal government to help Los Angeles rebuild.
Real estate mogul Mauricio Umansky California officials need to work with the federal government to help people in areas devastated by wildfire rebuilding, and now is not the time to pick a fight with President Trump.
“It’s time to put politics aside and rebuild Los Angeles,” Umansky told Fox Business. “This is not the time for our state government to be political and … start being against Trump.”
Umansky’s luxury real estate company, The Agency, represents a portfolio of homes and properties for sale around the world. However, many of its clients are in areas hardest hit by the wildfires that ignited earlier this month in Los Angeles County.
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Umansky said the situation was dire for families who lost everything.
Its agents, some of whom lost their own homes, worked around the clock to find everyone a place to go. But it was far from easy.
“One of the hardest things is that there are 10 applicants for each house, and so nine are rejected,” he said. “When you think about it, and these are all the people who lost their homes, so…their depression is crazy.”
An aerial view of the sun rising past homes that burned in the Eaton Fire January 21, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Umansky said people are moving around the city and many of them want to stay close to home. However, there are a series of other people moving north or leaving the state.
“We’ve displaced thousands and thousands of people. And so it’s going to be very difficult,” he said.
Umansky said it’s still too early to understand what things will look like in terms of how people will rebuild, but he knows governments at the state and federal levels will have to work together to do it .
“We’re looking for answers. I don’t think the government has done a good job of alerting people in terms of what it will look like,” he said, adding that residents are still struggling to understand how they will get insurance.
Firefighters have been battling destructive Southern California flames for weeks, with more continuing to ignite.
They need to put their egos aside, politics aside,” he said. We’re going to need federal money. We’re going to need money from the state.
THE Hughes Fire, which was reported Wednesday morning, was located in the unincorporated community of Castaic in northwest Los Angeles County. It spread quickly due to aggressive winds that plagued firefighting efforts.
An aerial view of homes that burned in the Eaton Fire on January 19, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Since the wildfires began on January 7, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Trump have been at odds. Newsom has faced intense criticism over the state’s response to the Los Angeles fires. California’s governor embraced Trump on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport Friday after the president left Air Force One.
President Donald Trump greets California Governor Gavin Newsom as he arrives to tour areas affected or destroyed by the Southern California wildfires, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis/Reuters)
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Newsom also denounced Trump’s criticism, saying that NBC News’ “Meet the Press” earlier this month, “misinformation, disinformation and misinformation doesn’t help any of us.” Meanwhile , Trump, a longtime critic of California’s government, recently lashed out, going so far as to suggest that California might not receive federal aid unless it changes certain policies, including its management water.
Flames from the Hughes Fire burn a hillside in Castaic, a northwest part of Los Angeles County, California, January 22, 2025. (Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
As Newsom signed a relief package offering $2.5 billion for recovery efforts as fires continue to sweep through parts of Southern California, Umansky said there was “no question “, that the state will also need federal aid.
“They need to get their egos out of the way, politics aside,” he said. “We’re going to need federal money. We’re going to need state money.”
The state should not fight Trump, he said.
“When I say don’t fight him, I mean … he’s going to have ideas. We’re going to need help from the federal government. Like, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
Anders Hagstrom of Fox News contributed to this report.
