Washington D.C. — U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined KCAL Los Angeles News to announce Captain Vincent Culliver as his guest for President Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress. Captain Culliver, a federal firefighter for the Vandenberg Space Force Base Fire Department, was on the frontlines of the Eaton fire and serves as the president of the union of the International Association of Firefighters at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
View the full interview here.
Key Excerpts:
On Captain Vincent Culliver, federal firefighter for Vandenberg Space Force Base:
Vincent Culliver is a brave firefighter. He helped battle the Eaton fire. We are just so much in his debt. In fact, in the debt of so many firefighters that battle those terrible LA blazes. And I’m delighted that he’ll be able to join me. And it’s my way of saying thank you and acknowledging the extraordinary sacrifice of our firefighters and their families.
On the need to protect firefighters from the federal freezes:
I’ve been doing my best to sound the alarm about some of these firings, which include firing federal firefighters, saying to people who just got off the fire lines, “thank you, please quit.” This is insanity. That’s not the reward they should be getting for that brave service.
Background:
Senator Schiff has been steadfast in his response to supporting communities impacted by the recent Los Angeles-area fires. Senators Schiff and Alex Padilla led 47 bipartisan members of the California Congressional delegation in successfully urging former President Biden to grant Governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to these fires to expedite timely relief to help Los Angeles residents recover and rebuild.
Amidst the Trump administration’s reckless federal funding and hiring freezes, Schiff has urged the administration to exempt federal firefighters from these freezes, which have stalled the onboarding of thousands of seasonal firefighters. Schiff also proposed an amendment to the budget resolution that called for reinstating firefighters laid off by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and exempting federal firefighters and Forest Service employees from the ongoing hiring freeze instituted by President Donald Trump.