Johnson leverages California

House Democrats are warning Speaker Mike Johnson that tying federal wildfire relief for California to the debt limit could set a precedent that would come back to bite Republicans.

• Johnson told reporters this afternoon (video) that there's "some" discussion of tying disaster aid to raising the debt limit.

Why it matters: Disaster prone red states such as Florida and Louisiana — Johnson's home state — could face a similar squeeze from Democrats if they retake the House, lawmakers told us.

• "This place is like high school, it's tit for tat when one side breaks a norm. The other side is happy to return the favor," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), pointing to the removal of members from committees as an example.
• If Johnson conditions the aid, Moskowitz said, "California's our largest delegation. You think they're going to forget about that?"
• House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said conditioning aid would be "crazy and ridiculous" and would "completely upend Congress."

Zoom in: "There should probably be conditions on that aid, that's my personal view," Johnson told reporters.

• "State and local leaders were derelict in their duty," he said. Johnson also cited "water resource mismanagement" and "forest management mistakes."

The bottom line: Disaster aid and raising the debt limit will both need Democratic votes to pass.

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— Andrew Solender