Of fish and men: Trump's California water order takes aim at Newsom and troubled smelt

In an apparent poke at California politics, one of  President Donald Trump's executive orders on Monday directed federal agencies “to route more water" from across the state instead of trying to protect a nearly extinct tiny fish species.

Experts say the state's water flow has been complex for more than four decades, and the president's mandate might be considered a bit fishy as he tries to keep a longstanding campaign promise.

In the executive order titled “Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California,” Trump mandated water from Northern California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, one of the state's main water sources, to be redirected south. It's an attempt to change the environmental protections of the smelt, a three-inch-long fish once vital to California's ecosystem but now nearly extinct, and criticize the state's efforts while battling raging and deadly wildfires that have wreaked havoc across greater Los Angeles.

The executive order comes after Trump initially promised in 2016 to redirect California’s water runoff south to help farmers and growers in Central Valley. In 2020, then-President Trump issued a federal memorandum to redirect millions of gallons of water. But California Gov. Gavin Newsom successfully sued in federal court to limit the flow from the Delta.

Otherwise, Trump's order is "so vague" that it is meant to appear he is keeping his word to farmers who overwhelmingly voted for him last year, said Fresno State University Political Science Professor Tom Holyoke, who specializes in western water policy.

"It’s not really a solution, it's a signal to his supporters that he’s trying to do something," said Holyoke, adding Los Angeles gets its water primarily from the Los Angeles River, Owens Valley and the Colorado River. "It’s a directive to find a solution when there might not even be one. Increasing the water flowing south of the Delta is not likely to help Los Angeles with its water supply problem.

"Navigating water in the West is not simple, and, in California, it's really complex," Holyoke concluded.

Scientists believe that pumping water out of the Delta is largely responsible for the near extinction of the smelt, Holyoke said.

As a result, Holyoke said the Endangered Species Act requires the government to do everything possible to stop a species from going extinct. Since the Delta smelt, a food source for larger fish including salmon and sea bass as well as sea lions is near extinction, the government has been pumping less water out to save the fish for about 20 years, Holyoke added.

"The act does not take into account whether a species is useful to humanity or not, it requires any endangered species to be saved,” Holyoke said. “For example, in Oregon, logging was stopped by the government to save the Spotted Owl, so this happens all of the time."

Ongoing feud further fueled by wildfires

The public feud between Trump and Newsom has only intensified since the deadly wildfires. Last week, Trump aimed his ire at Newsom by posting on Truth Social: "RELEASE THE WATER FROM UP NORTH. MILLIONS OF GALLONS A DAY. WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG."

In another Truth Social post, Trump blasted Newsom, often calling him "Newscum."

"Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way," Trump said. "He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California.

"Now the ultimate price is being paid," Trump continued. "I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!"

Newsom's office responded in an X post: "There is no such document as the water restoration declaration - that is pure fiction."

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Trump is using the executive order to make a case that California politics, especially around water, is dysfunctional, as the debate dates back to when Ronald Reagan was governor before he became president, said Brian Sobel, a longtime political analyst based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"It’s Trump's way of making a statement about environmental legislation going too far," Sobel said.  "The smelt point is illustrative enough."

In September, Trump said if he got reelected he would cut off wildfire aid to California if Newsom refused to change state and federal policies protecting the smelt and allow water to flow while three separate fires burned at the time in Southern California.

"If he doesn't sign those papers, we won't give him money to put out all his fires. And, if we don't give him the money to put out his fires. He's got problems. He's a lousy governor."

Holyoke and Sobel both wonder what Trump will say to Newsom during the president's scheduled visit to see the destruction in Southern California later this week.

"Trump might very well bring up the executive order as a talking point," Holyoke said. "I can't imagine him not."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump order 'putting people over fish' draws controversy in California