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The Trump administration has rejected California’s request for disaster relief funds aimed at cleaning up the damage from six recent fires across the state, including Los Angeles County’s Bobcat fire, San Bernardino County’s El Dorado fire, and the Creek fire, one of the largest that continues to burn in Fresno and Madera counties. The decision came late Wednesday or early Thursday when the administration denied a request from Gov. Gavin Newsom for a major presidential disaster declaration, said Brian Ferguson, deputy director of crisis communication and media relations for the governor’s Office of Emergency Services. (Campa, 10/15)

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin acknowledged that his department withheld $3.92 million since 2004 from Fire Department of New York first responders suffering from illnesses related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because of other debts New York City owes the federal government, according to a letter addressed to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The letter states the city was provided with a detailed accounting of all debts since 2004, but the letter does not detail them. "New York City firefighters are waiting on Secretary Mnuchin to act," a spokesperson for the mayor told CNN. "If the Trump administration supports first responders and the fearless men and women who keep Americans safe, then it's time for them to prove it." (del Valle, 10/15)

The Transportation Department said it will use a presidential memo calling for punishing “anarchist jurisdictions” when deciding which cities should get money under a coronavirus grant program. The American Public Transportation Association said the declaration could undermine applicants for the pandemic safety grants from Seattle, Portland, Ore., or New York City, the first three jurisdictions the Trump administration has deemed to be “permitting anarchy.” (Laris, 10/15)

While millions of Americans wait anxiously to see if another stimulus package will ever see the light of day, a federal judge in California has rapped the knuckles of Treasury and the IRS for withholding and requiring the return of relief money from incarcerated people. A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated individuals argued that the decision to deny the payments was arbitrary and against the law. Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed and ordered the Treasury Department and the IRS to reverse their decision to disallow stimulus funds to prisoners solely based on their incarcerated status. The government has filed an appeal. (Singletary, 10/12)