STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.

No Troops

Did U.S. troops enter California under "emergency powers" from President Donald Trump to turn on water from the Pacific Northwest, in January 2025? No, that's not true according to state authorities: The U.S. military did not enter the state to turn on the water, according to a statement posted by the California Department of Water Resources. The statement said the federal government restarted federal water pumps that were offline for three days for maintenance.

The claim orginated in a Truth Social post (archived here) made by President Trump on January 27, 2025. The post said:

The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!

This is what the post looked like on Truth Social at the time of writing:

The California Department of Water Resources denied President Trump's claim.

"The military did not enter California," the state water resources department said in a post on X (archived here). "The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful."

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emailed questions about what units were allegedly involved or where the alleged events took place. The Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees among other things the federal water-pumping infrastructure, did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation the pumps had been turned back on.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked about the Trump post and the water situation in California during a White House press briefing on January 28, 2025, responded in general terms, saying, "The water has been turned back on in California, and this comes just days after President Trump visited Pacific Palisades and as you all saw, applied tremendous pressure on state and local officials ..."

She added that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "has been on the ground in California to respond to the devastation from these wildfires and I would point out that just days after President Trump visited the devastation from these fires, the water was turned on ..."

Trump's claim on Truth Social followed his January 24, 2025, signing of an executive order (archived here) which charged a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, to get more water to Southern California to combat fires devastating the Los Angeles basin.

The executive order claimed firefighting efforts in Los Angeles were hindered because "firefighters were unable to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure." That claim was disavowed by California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom.

Governor Newsom's office did not immediately respond to emailed questions, though it updated a page (archived here) on its web site -- the same day Trump posted his Truth Social claim -- titled "Hear the experts give the real facts on California water." In a response received after publication of this story the Assistant Director for Crisis Communication & Public Affairs said the question was addressed by the X post of the California Department of Water Resources.

"Scientists, water managers, state leaders, and experts throughout the state are calling out the federal administration's ongoing misinformation campaign on water management in California," it said. "...There is no spigot to magically make water appear at a wildfire, despite the administration's false claims."