John — I have an alarming update to share:

The Trump Administration is freezing the hiring and onboarding of firefighting personnel. This could cost California alone 15,000 firefighters this year.

This is a matter of life and death, John.

After the fires in Palisades, Altadena, and across the Los Angeles area, we should be investing in firefighting crews and resources. Not freezing or cutting them. Fire crews simply cannot afford to be shorthanded, especially at a time like this.

The Forest Service hires thousands of seasonal firefighters each year — I know because for a very brief time, I was one of them — but now these critical positions are in peril.

People in fire-prone areas are at much higher risk without the necessary staff capacity to handle fires. Hundreds of thousands of people in SoCal live alongside the Angeles National Forest, federal land that relies on the firefighters now impacted by the freeze. And millions more across the country face their own fire risks from nearby forests and grasslands.

And the incredibly brave heroes who risk their lives to fight fires are now facing job insecurity and reduced training because of the Trump Administration. To make matters worse, they sent a letter to all those firefighters encouraging them to quit, just when we should be hiring.

It’s a disgrace, and it’s why I wrote to the Trump Administration to call on them to reverse the funding freeze for firefighters:

John, please add your name alongside my own to call on the Trump administration to reverse course and allow the U.S. Forestry Service to resume hiring and onboarding. We can’t let Trump and Elon Musk and their ruthless cuts to public safety threaten the lives of Americans.

We need to act with urgency here to restore funding for firefighters.

Thank you for taking action.

— Adam