On his Truth Social media platform on Monday, Jan. 27, Trump wrote: “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond.

President Donald Trump speaks at the 2025 House Republican Members Conference Dinner at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. On the same day, he posted on social media that military troops had "turned on" Pacific Northwest water to help California. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) AP

President Donald Trump said Monday that he ordered the U.S. military to divert water from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California as part of his presidential action of “Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California.