California Governor Gavin Newsom is setting aside his differences with Donald Trump and asking the president to approve more housing vouchers to help with the state's homelessness problem. The request comes as the Trump administration officials consider taking action of their own in the country's most populous state.
During a recent visit to Los Angeles recently administration officials got a closer look at the city's sprawling homeless encampments. That visit was at direction of the president, who told his staff to develop policy options to address the national crisis of people living on the streets.
Newsom and representatives from California cities and counties on Monday sent the president a letter insisting that "shelter solves sleep, but only housing solves homelessness."
The Democrat governor's letter asks 50,000 more housing vouchers through two existing federal programs. The letter also requests that the value of the vouchers increased to account for high rents.
There was no immediate comment on the letter from Federal Housing and Urban Development officials.