Schiff Supports Review Into Wildfires As GOPer Says Relief May Have ‘Strings Attached’

California Sen. Adam Schiff (D) on Sunday called for an independent commission to review the response to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, saying the state needed a “full analysis of what went wrong.”

Schiff spoke to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Sunday after touring the ongoing destruction created by the wildfires, which have so far scorched more than 40,000 acres, left 24 dead and destroyed more than 12,000 structures including homes and businesses.

“That… frankly, reminded me of visiting war zones, seeing that kind of devastation, just house after house, block after block,” the senator said Sunday after visiting hard-hit areas. “In talking to residents, so many who lost everything, they’ve told me how their house is gone, their neighbors’ are gone. Their church is gone. Their store is gone. It’s all gone. We haven’t seen that before, not in Southern California, not like this.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has called for an independent review of the fire response amid reports some fire hydrants ran dry and other issues with evacuation warnings. Schiff added the state should create a fully independent commission to determine what went right and what went wrong during the historic blazes.

“I think we need an independent commission to look at all of it,” the senator said. “And beyond that, Jonathan, we’re going to need to rebuild and with a sense of urgency. We need cleanup operations when the flames are out. We need the rebuilding to go forward. We can’t have, you know, local bureaucratic delay. We need to bring a sense of urgency to this.”

The same day, GOP Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.) predicted Republicans — who control both chambers of Congress — would ensure there are “strings attached” to any recovery funds sent to California.

“I expect that there will be strings attached to money that is ultimately approved, and it has to do with being ready the next time because this was a gross failure this time,” the Wyoming lawmakers told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan.

Barrasso also said any funding wouldn’t be a “blank check” to local officials, piling on to other Republican critiques of California’s elected officials, including a string of attacks from President-elect Donald Trump.

“People want to make sure that as rebuilding occurs, as things go on in California, they have to be resilient, so that these sorts of things can’t happen again,” Barrasso said Sunday. “And the policies of the liberal administration out there, I believe have made these fires worse.”

The remarks prompted immediate criticism from Democrats.

“C’mon. We aren’t idiots,” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy (D) wrote on X. “Republicans never ask for ‘strings’ attached to disaster funding for Republican states.”

“This isn’t about helping California,” Murphy went on, “This is about punishing California because it votes for Democrats.”