CNN reported on one of Trump’s absurd stunts: He insisted on releasing billions of gallons of water from two dams in California as a show of his genius in sending water to douse the fires in Los Angeles. But the water flowed far away from Los Angeles and wasted water that local farmers needed in the summer.

Representatives from the Department of Government Efficiency repeatedly pressured the head of a United States water management agency to open a major California pump system in late January, intending to release a huge amount of water south toward Los Angeles — even though the water would have never made it to the fire-scarred metropolis.

When the acting head of the Bureau of Reclamation did not relent, the DOGE agents flew to California with the goal of turning the pumps on themselves, in what people familiar with the incident characterized as a stunt for a “photo op.”

The account comes from six people with knowledge of the events that took place as President Donald Trump falsely claimed the LA fires were a result of the state’s water policies, and demanded more water be sent south. The people who spoke with CNN were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the events. They also feared retaliation from the Trump administration.

The new details serve as a peek into the inner workings of the chaotic second Trump administration in its first weeks as it sparred with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the response to the Los Angeles fires.

A power outage — and the fact that at least one of the DOGE representatives was not yet an employee of the federal government and therefore was not allowed near the pump controls — ultimately threw a wrench in the plan to engage the pumps in late January.

But a few days later, in a show of authority that superseded California’s own water policy, Trump ordered the US Army Corps to open two dams in central California, which ultimately flooded farmland in the San Joaquin Valley with 2.2 billion gallons of fresh water. State water experts previously told CNN it was a regrettable waste as farmers look anxiously toward the state’s dry season….

Water experts told CNN after the incident the water release was wasteful and put farmers at risk of running out of water this summer and fall. The water flowed into the dry Tulare lakebed and soaked into the ground.

Trump celebrated the water release on January 31 by posting a photo of what looked like a river near a dam. He said 1.6 billion gallons was initially being released but more would come.

“Photo of beautiful water flow that I just opened in California,” Trump said. “Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory!”