The roundtable with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and President Trump has wrapped.

"I want to tell you fire people are so well thought of," Trump concluded.

"You had big fires and it was hard to put them out, but boy were they brave," he said. "And everybody in the country knows it."

President Trump pushed back on a Democratic congressman who expressed FEMA was doing their best to provide relief after the wildfires.

"The problem with FEMA is they come from all over the country. They end up in arguments with your people from California because they want to do it a totally different way," Trump chastised Rep. Brad Sherman, who had been defending the agency.

"You haven't gotten very much done with FEMA -- and all you have to do is look at North Carolina," he added.

Sherman went on to disagree and argue for a higher level of federal assistance.

Trump added that California had worsened the situation by driving out insurance companies due to its policies.

The Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that it will take at least 18 months to rebuild the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, according to a local official.

"My top priority going forward is to get these men and women home as soon as possible," city councilwoman Tracy Park said.

"I just ask for your ongoing partnership with FEMA and the EPA and our other federal agencies to make sure that we have a commitment across all layers of government to get these people back home."

President Trump urged Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to use her emergency powers to let residents return to the burned-out neighborhoods and clean up.

"Everyone's standing in front of their house. They want to go to work and they're not allowed to do it," Trump said.

Bass claimed that she was "concerned right now over the weekend because of the potential rain," but promised she would allow residents back within a week.

A local resident had interjected to note that officials were not "slashing regulations" or letting people "get busy rebuilding ASAP."

"I mean, you have emergency power," Trump told Bass. "A week is actually a long time the way I look at it. I watched hundreds of people standing in front of their lots and they're not allowed to go in."

A Breitbart editor at the briefing just petitioned President Trump to launch a 9/11-style commission to oversee how California wildfire aid from the federal government is spent.

"I would like to ask you to follow the 9/11 commission precedent and appoint a special master to watch the money, to make sure that every federal dollar that gets spent here is spent on fire relief and rebuilding," Breitbart senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak said, "and not on everything else."

A California Republican congressman revealed at the roundtable that former President Joe Biden broke his promise to assist victims of the 2021 Caldor fire in his district.

"You mentioned your predecessor and how he didn't fix the situation, which is absolutely right," Rep. Kevin Kiley said.

"Not only that, during the Caldor fire, which is a few years ago, which was in my district, 600 people lost their homes in a town called Squirrel Flat."

"He came and he promised that he would help them out," Kiley added. "He broke that promise many times; he never delivered them the individual assistance they were asking for."

Kiley represents California's mountainous Third Congressional District.

President Trump laid into his predecessor again for his lackluster response to the fires.

"I've only been here three days, and I'll do a great job," Trump said. "But we had another president ... he would not have been able to help you fix it."

A California Democratic rep confronted President Trump for wanting to condition wildfire aid on changes to voter ID laws as well as water infrastructure.

"I know you've talked about policies of California that you're not a fan of, but I've been in Congress for 28 years," began Rep. Brad Sherman.

"I would never turn to somebody from Louisiana and say, 'You keep living on your cousin's couch because we're not going to help you rebuild until Louisiana agrees with me on a woman's right to choose,'" he added.

"I'm hoping that we can get these funds and we don't punish individuals for the policies of their state," Sherman also said.

"I often agree with you on tariffs, but how about no tariffs on building materials for the next three years?" he offered.

Sherman also said he expected 16 times the aid of that sent to Hawaii after wildfires on the island last year.

President Trump said he was also readying another executive order to ease the flow of water between northern and southern California.

"I'm signing an executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north. We want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible, let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into southern California," Trump added at the briefing.

"I tell you who does like it is the fire department," the president told attendees.

"I really strongly recommended this seven years ago. And I think I'm going to just do it," Trump went on, snubbing California Gov. Gavin Newsom who had brushed off the accusation that he declined to take the 45th president up on his advice in the past.

Permits will be waived to help rebuild Los Angeles, Trump also pledged at the briefing.

"Either waive them or give them so rapidly, it's going to be essentially the same thing," the president said.

Trump claimed some residents whose homes burned down told him they were worried they'd have to "wait 18 months" for their permits.

President Trump told federal, state and local lawmakers and officials at an emergency briefing Friday night that he'd "had a good talk" with California Gov. Gavin Newsom while touring the wildfire sites.

"We had a good talk, very positive talk," Trump said of his conversation with Newsom, as they flew by helicopter over the fire-damaged regions of Pacific Palisades.

"I just want to commiserate," he added. "We'll be back to celebrate. ... The federal government is standing behind you 100%."

Attendees in the crowd at the emergency briefing started chanting at the start: "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!"