LA28 federal – State lawmakers grilled the LA28 organizing committee on federal funding, ticket pricing and visitor safety amid concerns about Trump-era enforcement and immigration raids.
When Los Angeles gears up to host the 2028 Olympics, state lawmakers are publicly wrestling with a far more combustible question than traffic plans and venue schedules: whether federal support could be derailed by President Donald Trump’s relationship with California.
At a legislative hearing in Sacramento this week on the 2028 Games, State Sen. Susan Rubio, a Democrat from Baldwin Park, raised alarms about Trump’s animosity toward the state and asked directly whether the Olympics could end up dependent on federal dollars that might not arrive as expected.
“I know we rely a lot on the federal funding,” Rubio said. “Can you assure me that we’re not going to be left in the middle of the planning carrying the bag?”
Rubio’s comments came during testimony from Joey Freeman. the vice president of state affairs for the LA28 Organizing Committee. who faced lawmakers’ questions on everything from budgeting to public safety.. Freeman told legislators that the organizing committee has maintained a “wonderful working relationship” with the Trump administration.
He said LA28 had successfully advocated for $1 billion in federal funds for state and local law enforcement, and $94 million aimed at transportation planning.
LA28 leaders have previously projected that the Games will cost more than $7.1 billion. They have said the financing will come from a patchwork of sources, including corporate sponsors, ticket sales, merchandise, the federal government and the International Olympic Committee.
Rubio, though, said she remained concerned that federal dollars could fail to materialize. “As a state, our funding is also stretched thin, and at the end of the day we don’t want to have to step in to save the Olympics,” she said.
Immigration enforcement was another focal point of the hearing.. Several lawmakers pressed for assurances on how visitors and participants would be protected from federal immigration raids. pointing to what they described as heightened enforcement activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S.. Border Patrol last year in the Los Angeles area.
That expanded enforcement, lawmakers said, helped trigger confrontations with protesters and sparked broad concerns about immigrant rights.
Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat from Long Beach, said lawmakers are working on a package of bills intended to help rein in ICE during the event.
“Immigration is still front and center,” Gonzalez said. “People are feeling even more worried that they’ll continue to be deported and kidnapped.”
In a separate line of questioning, lawmakers challenged Freeman for more details about ticket sales and community access. LA28 had previously advertised tickets as affordable for local residents, but many shoppers said last month they discovered prices in the thousands.
Freeman said he did not have specifics about the community ticketing program, which drew sharp rebuke from Sen. Laura Richardson of San Pedro.
“You’re in an official state hearing and I think you know there was a problem because it was well-publicized in the news. ” Richardson said.. “The fact that we came to this committee and you don’t know how many tickets were issued. you don’t know how many of those were under $100 — you don’t have the information that we need.”
Outside the committee’s formal questioning, Paul Krekorian, executive director of the Los Angeles Office of Major Events, said many of the concerns were rooted in political negativity.
He pointed to the success of prior Olympic Games in Los Angeles, including the 1932 and 1984 editions, and argued that pessimistic talk about disruptions and access often ignores what the city has done before.
“You hear the tickets are too expensive. there aren’t going to be enough opportunities. it’s going to be a big disruption. there’s going to be a lot of traffic. the city just went through these horrible fires. how are we going to pull this off?” Krekorian said.. “I just want to remind all of us — L.A.. knows how to do this.”
Los Angeles 2028 Olympics federal funding immigration enforcement ticket sales ICE LA28 organizing committee state lawmakers
california made their bed now sleep in it
Wait so they already spent 7 billion dollars and now they saying the money might not come through?? That makes zero sense why would you plan something that big without having the money locked in first. My husband said the same thing when he read this, like who approved all this spending before confirming anything.
This is exactly what happens when you let politicians run things instead of actual business people. The Olympics hasnt even happened yet and theyre already panicking about money and honestly I dont blame Trump for not wanting to fund California after everything they pulled against him for years. You cant go around suing the federal government every five minutes and then turn around and ask for a billion dollars with a smile. It dont work like that in real life and it shouldnt work like that in politics either. LA is gonna end up asking regular taxpayers to cover the difference and everyone knows it, they just wont say it out loud yet.
didnt they cancel the olympics already because of the fires?? pretty sure i saw that on facebook last month