WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump indicated his commitment to working with Los Angeles officials who want to secure federal wildfire recovery funding for victims of the 2025 fires during a private White House meeting with local leaders, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday.

Trump spoke for about an hour and a half Wednesday with Barger and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and appeared receptive to their appeal for $16 billion in federal funding for the city and county, Barger said in an interview. The president understands that Los Angeles needs not a handout but “a hand up” and wants to help provide that, she said.

“The president is very engaged and very much wants to be part of the solution,” said Barger, adding that he also wanted to ensure local officials “continue to do our part.”

The cordial Oval Office meeting marks an extraordinary turning point after a yearlong standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration over wildfire recovery funding, disaster response and whether the federal government should have a say in local rebuilding permitting.

A recent Environmental Protection Agency-led collaboration between federal and L.A. officials to speed up the permitting appears to have paved the way for Wednesday’s meeting — and papered over the tensions between Trump, who earlier this year called Bass “ incompetent,” and California leaders.

On Wednesday, Bass and Barger posed for a photo with Trump before departing the White House. Barger requested the meeting a few weeks ago, she said, and the White House granted it.

The next step for the California leaders will be to persuade Congress to appropriate the money, which represents $8 billion for L.A. County and $8 billion for the city.

Barger, a Republican, said she and Bass, a Democrat, would work together to talk with members of Congress. Barger plans to return to Washington to meet with lawmakers, including those from other states in need of disaster funding, she said.

A White House official said Trump and Bass “had a productive discussion on the Palisades disaster recovery.”

“President Trump and his administration remain committed to helping the people of California recover from the Palisades wildfires, but also expect state and local officials like Mayor Bass to swiftly enable and facilitate reconstruction,” the official said.

Bass on Wednesday was reserved about the discussions but signaled progress was being made.

In a statement after the meeting, she and Barger said it was a “very positive” discussion. Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, and Susie Wiles, the president’s chief of staff, also attended the meeting.

The $16 billion local leaders spoke with Trump about consists primarily of disbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency flagged for communities hit by the fires. The funding ask is a component of a $33.9-billion request by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which also includes fire prevention, business grants and environmental measures.

California officials have been pushing the Trump administration to send a formal request for the aid to Congress for months. The fires destroyed and damaged homes, schools, utilities and other critical infrastructure when they tore through neighborhoods more than 15 months ago.

State leaders, led by Newsom, accused the Trump administration of withholding billions in crucial wildfire aid, prompting a lawsuit over stalled recovery funds.

Newsom visited Washington in December, meeting with five lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House appropriations committees. But the governor said he was denied a meeting with FEMA and would not say whether he had attempted to meet with Trump to discuss the issue.

After the New Year, Trump lobbed insults at the mayor at a news conference, calling her “incompetent” for her handling of wildfire recovery efforts. He alleged that the city’s issuing of building permits would take years under Bass’ leadership when it should have taken “two or three days.”

A few days later, Trump ordered a federal takeover of the permitting process. In February, he tapped Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in an effort to strip California state and local governments of their authority to permit the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires.

Within the week, Zeldin was in Los Angeles, bashing Newsom and Los Angeles officials at a roundtable with fire victims and reporters, saying that residents were suffering from “bureaucratic, red tape delays and incompetency” and that leadership was “denying them ... the ability to rebuild their lives.”

During the trip, officials heard direct complaints from local leaders and fire victims about insurers being slow, restrictive and insufficient with their claim payouts.

But the arrangement led to a reportedly effective relationship between the EPA and Los Angeles officials, and perhaps a thawing in tensions. About 2,000 permits have been approved in the city and county, according to the EPA.

Zeldin’s involvement “was a game-changer,” Barger said. He helped convey to Trump the problems that still stood in the residents’ way of rebuilding — obstacles that center on insurance and banking, she said.

This month, Trump criticized insurance provider State Farm on Truth Social for its handling of the wildfires. He accused the insurance giant of abandoning its policyholders when tragedy struck.

“It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!” Trump wrote.

Trump has directed Zeldin to investigate the insurers’ responses. State Farm, facing roughly $7 billion in fire-related claims, is also under formal investigation by California’s insurance commissioner over its handling of the crisis.

She and Bass said in their statement that Trump will lend support “to continue joining us in pressuring the insurance companies to pay what they owe — and for the big banks to step up to ease the financial pressure on L.A. families.”

In requesting the meeting with Trump, Barger wanted to thank him for Zeldin’s assistance and show him “what we’ve done as a result of the help of the administration.”

“This is a nonpartisan issue,” she added. “You get far more done when you work together.”

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