Bill Maher Unloads On Newsom, Demands To Know Why He Didn’t Cut Red Tape ‘When We Were Not On Fire’

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher laid into Governor Gavin Newsom during a recent TMZ interview, arguing that if California leadership could cut through oppressive regulations and “red tape,” they should have done so before the southern part of the state had burned to the ground.

Maher argued that it wasn’t really a Left or Right issue, but one of accountability, telling TMZ hosts Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere that he’d had previous run-ins with California’s extensive building regulations when he had tried to install a shed and some solar panels on his own property.

“I always think there’s a middle of the road, actual practical solution to everything and for this I would say, was California’s uber progressive politics the cause of this fire? Of course not. Did it impede them to some degree? Absolutely. That’s the margin of error that I’m saying we can’t abide by anymore,” Maher explained.

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The comedian, who had previously detailed his own difficulties with the state’s excessive red tape on his own show — HBO’s “Real Time” — said that he was in favor of holding all government officials accountable.

“Now, as far as the red tape, I see that they’re all — Newsom, Bass — they’re all saying, we’re going to cut red tape, as if they’re doing us a favor,” Maher continued. “My question is, well, if you can do it now, why didn’t you always do it? Obviously, it can be done. It’s not a favor to us to cut the red tape. Why do we live in this state, in this red tape nightmare the other times of the year when we’re not on fire?”

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Newsom announced that he would slash red tape for residents who chose to rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating fires, and also promised to prosecute any developers who attempted to sweep in and buy up the land.

Toward that end, the Democrat governor signed an executive order on Tuesday “barring opportunist and predatory investors from making unsolicited undervalue offers to families impacted by the firestorms to buy their land, taking advantage by offering fast cash for destroyed property.”