Not running for president (yet), Ro Khanna visits the fire zone

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna came to Altadena last week to hear about fire recovery challenges. He got an earful: about balky insurance companies, charred businesses still not cleared away and how President Trump’s tariffs on Canada will drive up the price of lumber for rebuilding.

Homeowner Julian Saucedo pointed the Democratic congressman from the Silicon Valley to one bright spot: the speedy home debris removal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “They followed their orders. They were champions for Altadena,” said Saucedo, a retired aerospace engineer.

Saucedo stepped in close and added in a near-whisper: “You can be the next champion ... if you can deliver on any of the things I mentioned,” like relocation assistance.

Replied Khanna: “We’re gonna fight hard.”

A series of moments

Though he is just one of 435 members of the House of Representatives, the California congressman is having a moment, or series of them, as the 48-year-old lawmaker is mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate.

As Khanna listened to homeowners, business people, clergy and nonprofit leaders in Altadena, I couldn’t help but wonder how he would be received in Peosta (Iowa) and Goose Creek (South Carolina) — states that will be among the first to vote in the next presidential primary season.

Khanna’s team coordinated the visit with the Department of Angels, a nonprofit supporting community solutions in fire recovery areas and assuring the government does not lose focus on the huge rebuilding task. Khanna arrived in the San Gabriel Valley fresh off a bipartisan congressional visit with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and a tour of South Carolina, where he talked about Trump’s slashing of the federal workforce and cuts that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would put at risk healthcare for more than 11 million Americans.

Khanna told an audience in Goose Creek that he was focused on a “new economic patriotism” of job creation, lowering costs, and ending “dumb wars,” WCBD television reported.

He also gained substantial cable news air time with a petition, supported by even some Republicans, to force the Trump administration to release more information about the Jeffrey Epstein case. “Are you protecting the rich and the powerful, or are you protecting our children?” Khanna told the Post and Courier newspaper.

In the past, Khanna has clearly relished being asked about a possible future presidential run. But during his Altadena visit, the topic never came up, and only one reporter came along.

Homes and lives to rebuild

Unlike some politicians on a “listening tour,” Khanna mostly listened when Altadenans talked. He praised business people as the “lifeblood” of a community, embraced homeowners who wept as they told about their losses and promised to urge all 43 California Democrats in the House to keep pushing for recovery aid — all the stuff you might expect from a presidential candidate.

Among the takeaways for Khanna: Try to help local businesses get government debris removal, just as homeowners did; help secure additional federal funding and see about lowering a Trump tariff that will drive up the price of Canadian lumber needed for reconstruction.

Khanna said it would be “unconscionable” if Trump and Republicans did not move expeditiously to approve the $40 billion in supplemental disaster recovery money requested by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He said that he supports federal relief for North Carolina and Republican-leaning states slammed by Mother Nature.

A representative of Sen. Alex Padilla’s office said that federal funds continue to flow into the fire zones in Altadena and Pacific Palisades and that “we continue to have good discussions with Republican colleagues in the Senate about the need for disaster aid.”

The White House said in a statement that Democrats should focus on their own failures, including Gov. Gavin “Newscum’s total failure to prepare for the California fires” and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’s failure to do more to speed issuance of rebuilding permits.

Altadenans told Khanna they appreciated his attention. With homes and lives to rebuild, most weren’t ready to talk about a president race that is more than two years away.

“I was very impressed. He seems like a good and decent person,” said one woman whose home burned down. She asked not to be named, explaining, “I’m just too busy, trying to get it together over here.”

Today’s top stories

Screenshot of Alert California camera view for Whitaker Middle Peak 1 on Aug. 7, 2025.

(Alert California)

Canyon fire explodes

• The Canyon fire exploded to nearly 5,000 acres, forcing residents in northern Los Angeles and Ventura counties to evacuate.
• Click here for the evacuation zones, road closures and shelters.
• California fire map: Track this fire live

Millions of Californians may lose healthcare

• The nation’s first mandated work requirement for Medicaid recipients is expected to have a seismic effect in California.
• The work requirement is the first to be imposed nationwide in the six-decade history of Medicaid, the program that provides free and subsidized health insurance to disabled and low-income Americans.
• As many as 3.4 million Californians could lose their coverage, one estimate predicts.

Redistricting battle rages on

• The California Federation of Labor Unions endorsed Democrat efforts to call for a special election in November to redraw congressional districts. The group would spend several million dollars supporting the effort.
• Texas, facing accusations of racial discrimination, may find itself at a distinct legal disadvantage in the fight.
• If California moves forward with its plan, here are the Republicans who could be most at risk.

SoCal heat wave

• The worst of Southern California’s ongoing heat wave landed Thursday, but relief is not yet in sight. Temperatures will remain toasty over the weekend, and another hot spell is forecast next week.
• Although temperatures in L.A. County are expected to be just below the heat advisory threshold, residents are still advised to limit strenuous outdoor activity and watch out for signs of heat sickness.

What else is going on

• ‘They run, we chase’: Immigration raids test limits of “probable cause.”
• Trump seeks to change how the census collects data to exclude immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.
• A SoCal store known for selling Labubus was ransacked by thieves.
• The California Supreme Court sided with environmental groups in a rooftop solar case.
• L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Yen Liu will not face criminal charges for shooting a man in the back as he lay on the pavement.
• L.A. County supervisors say they’re open to the idea of a receiver taking control of juvenile halls.

Commentary and opinions

• Columnist Steve Lopez says his bathroom scale is rigged, and so are his book sales. Look out, world! Lawsuits and pink slips are to follow.
• Trump’s aggression is radioactive, writes guest contributor Matt K. Lewis.
• Terry Gilliam’s 1985 masterpiece “Brazil” foretold our drift toward fascism, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik.

This morning’s must reads

California

Someone keeps stealing, flying, fixing and returning this California man’s plane. But why?

Someone has stolen Jason Hong’s 1958 Cessna Skyhawk plane at least four times. It has been taken for joyrides then returned to SoCal airports. Hong, and police, are baffled.

Aug. 8, 2025

Other must reads

• If anyone can make a movie now, what does Hollywood still stand for?
• Willy Chavarría’s Oaxaca-inspired huaraches raise questions about who profits from Mexican and Indigenous culture and who gets left out.
• L.A.’s fires reshaped the city. They may also have triggered changes in our bodies.
• At Mono Lake, visitors witness the stark toll of L.A.’s water use.

For your downtime

The 2023 Perseid meteor shower, seen from Sequoia National Forest.

(NASA/Preston Dyches)

Going out

• Outdoors: Here’s how to view the Perseids and other meteor showers near L.A. next week.
• Movies: In the spellbinding mystery “Weapons,” six characters reveal bloody slices of the truth.
• Music: Mexican indie act Caloncho is bringing his groove to the Wiltern on Aug. 8.

Staying in

• Books: Alcatraz is home to the last remaining zoo in Emma Sloley’s resilient “Last of Things.”
• Television: “Outlander: Blood of My Blood” lacks the drama and tension of its predecessor.
• Recipes: Here’s a recipe for strawberry forest pie.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Andres Blanco picks out plants for his mom from Regrow Altadena’s free plant stand.

(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Juliana Yamada, who captured a free plant stand that aims to make Altadena a little greener in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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