As California Burns, Republicans Try to Help Trump Seize Panama Canal

While one of the most devastating wildfires in American history rages on in Southern California, Republicans in Congress have decided to focus on retaking the Panama Canal.

On Thursday, Representative Dusty Johnson introduced a bill that authorizes the president to begin negotiations to reacquire the canal, with 15 of his fellow Republicans as co-sponsors.

The move follows Donald Trump’s public calls to reacquire the canal even though Panama’s leadership has said the idea isn’t up for discussion. Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said Tuesday that “the sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable and is part of our history of struggle.”

Trump claimed last month that Chinese troops were stationed in the canal zone, which Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called “nonsense,” saying that “there is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal.”

Johnson seems to be playing to Trump’s ego with the bill, if his words to Fox News on Wednesday are any indication.

“I think it is a Teddy Roosevelt moment,” the South Dakota representative said. “And frankly, America used to run this canal, and it was very well run under American leadership.”

In recent weeks, Trump has also floated taking over Greenland and adding Canada as the fifty-first U.S. state. Whether his plans are serious or not, they’ve already received pushback from leaders in the Danish territory, Canada, and even France, speaking on behalf of the European Union.

The case of Panama is unique, though: Trump has an outstanding tax evasion case in the country and could be looking to settle scores (and protect his wallet) with some saber-rattling. Maybe he also has some kind of financial interests in Greenland and Canada. If only the president-elect saw dollar signs in Southern California. Maybe then, people who are losing their homes and livelihoods to wildfires would be his priority.