SBA Ready to Action President Trump’s Executive Order to Bypass Bureaucracy and Help California Residents Rebuild One Year After Wildfires
Executive action empowers SBA to cut through red tape that has stalled recovery for more than a year
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), applauded President Donald J. Trump for signing a new executive order, “Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters,” which encourages the SBA to promulgate new regulations that allow disaster survivors to bypass certain state and local bureaucracy impeding recovery and the timely use of SBA disaster loans. The executive order comes in direct response to gross mismanagement in California, where thousands of Eaton and Palisades wildfire survivors have been prevented from rebuilding over the last year due to massive permitting backlogs – even after the Trump SBA approved an unprecedented $3.2 billion in disaster relief for the state.
“Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass had over a year to clear the permitting backlogs that kept California in ruins by preventing survivors from spending billions in federal relief funds,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “Today, while local officials continue to delay, the Trump Administration is stepping in to do what the Governor and Mayor did not: offer Californians an immediate onramp to recovery by bypassing the bureaucracy. With this executive order, the SBA is introducing straightforward regulations that allow us to deploy immediate relief – and empower residents to rebuild from the devastation of both the wildfires and local inaction.”
The Trump SBA authorized historic capital to help homeowners, renters, small businesses, and nonprofits recover from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires. Last year, the agency approved 12,600 disaster loans for Los Angeles totaling $3.2 billion in disaster relief – representing over half of all disaster aid approved by the agency in FY25. Yet despite this unprecedented federal response, less than 25% has been drawn down by borrowers due to enormous permitting backlogs that prevented survivors and their contractors from beginning the rebuilding process.
More than a year after the wildfires destroyed over 16,000 homes and businesses in California, less than 3,000 rebuild permits have been issued across the City and County of Los Angeles. Fewer than ten homes have been rebuilt according to the county. As of last year, 75% of Pacific Palisades residents remained in temporary housing, as well as 67% of residents in Altadena - even as billions of dollars were made available to support rebuilding and construction.
Typically, disaster survivors have six months from the date of SBA loan approval to fully use their approved funds. However, recognizing that extraordinary delays for rebuild permits were preventing California borrowers from drawing down approved funding, the SBA repeatedly extended disaster loan disbursement deadlines to protect survivors’ access to disaster loans. The agency most recently extended the deadline through June 30, 2026.
President Trump’s executive action encourages the SBA to implement new rules that will allow disaster survivors to bypass state and local permitting requirements and other approvals if there are substantive delays – empowering survivors to begin accessing and using their approved SBA relief for rapid recovery. In practice, the agency’s rules will allow Californians to self-certify compliance with substantive state and local regulations, allowing them to finally move forward with the rebuilding process and ending over a year of failed local governance that caused widespread suffering and devastation.
SBA will publish new regulations in the coming days and will work with federal partners to ensure borrowers can access their approved funds and begin rebuilding without further delay. Survivors seeking information about SBA disaster assistance may visit sba.gov/disaster, call the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
SBA HQ Press Team U.S. Small Business Administration press_office@sba.gov
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