After months of contentious back and forth, President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom met briefly in Los Angeles Friday as Trump toured fire zones.

The president promised a permanent fix so such wildfire destruction “can’t happen again” and committed to collaborate with Newsom to “get it worked out.” The governor shared appreciation and stressed the state needs federal assistance. 

Trump then doubled down on his water points in meeting with state Republicans and LA Mayor Karen Bass. He pledged to send “hundreds of millions of gallons of water to Southern California,” with “unlimited water” from as far away as Canada. Farmers, he explained, would be able to plant all their acres after years of partial fallowing. He criticized the water board’s urban water conservation goal as well. 

With wildfire prevention, Trump suggested California “rake the forests,” recalling a frequently ridiculed comment from his first term. He also called for “overriding” the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Commission to rebuild homes. 


Trump vows tariffs in spat over deported migrants 

It’s week two of the new administration, and President Trump has picked an unlikely target for his first trade war. Trump announced Sunday that he would immediately impose 25% tariffs on Colombia after that country blocked two military deportation flights from the U.S. Colombian President Gustavo Petro quickly responded that he was raising tariffs on U.S. exports. 

Colombia imports more than $1 billion of U.S. corn annually -- a larger volume than Canada -- making it the fourth-largest export market for U.S. corn producers. 

As of Sunday evening, there had been no official U.S. order on the implementation of new tariffs. 

Take note: Americans could feel the impact of stiff tariffs on Colombia. It accounts for 27% of unroasted U.S. coffee imports in 2023 and is the largest supplier of cut flowers – a hot commodity with Valentine’s Day around the corner. U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows Colombia also supplies around 4% of U.S. crude oil imports. 

Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com. 


Trump cans IGs, including USDA’s Fong 

Trump has summarily fired 18 inspectors general at federal agencies, including those at the departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Health and Human Services. 

Phyllis Fong had been in her position at USDA for 22 years. In October she launched a probe into the Food Safety and Inspection Services handling of violations at Boars Head following a listeria outbreak that killed 10 people. 

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Trumps action may have violated the federal Inspectors General Act. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Government Executive that the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.” 

Id like further explanation from President Trump.” Grassley said. 

The chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency said the firings are illegal. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed inspectors general,” Hannibal “Mike” Ware wrote to the White House’s director of Presidential Personnel. Ware was the IG at the Small Business Administration. 

Trump told reporters on Air Force One Saturday the firings were a very common thing to do,” according to press reports. However, it was the first time since 1981, when Ronald Reagan dismissed all 15 inspectors general, that any president had taken such a sweeping action. 

Since the dismissals by Reagan, practice has disfavored removal of IGs during presidential transitions,” the Congressional Research Service said in a report updated in May. 


Whole milk bill reintroduced in House, Senate 

A bipartisan group of senators and House members has reintroduced legislation to allow whole milk to be served with school lunches. 

USDA regulations currently require milk to be fat-free or low-fat. It can also be flavored or unflavored. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 would allow schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk. Further, USDA may not prohibit a school participating in the program from offering students any of these milk choices,” according to a summary of the bill from the previous Congress. 

The bills sponsors: Reps. Glenn GT” Thompson, R-Pa., and Kim Schrier, D-Wash., and Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and John Fetterman, D-Pa. 


Final word: 

Our democracy is under attack from evil people at the federal government.” — Max Gomberg, who rose to fame in 2022 after resigning from the state water board in protest of Gov. Gavin Newsoms endorsement of the voluntary agreements pathway for the Bay-Delta Plan. 

Gomberg, a midlevel manager at the time and not involved in the negotiations, had criticized the approach as based on a foundation of racism and violence. His tone was unchanged on Thursday, when he phoned in to a board hearing to again blast the VAs — along with the Trump administration — on behalf of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. 

Correction: Billion, not million. Agri-Pulse was slightly off last week — by a factor of a thousand — in reporting the $50 million Trump resistance fund the Legislature approved last week.