Trump’s Cabinet Meeting Features False and Misleading Claims

President Trump’s First Cabinet Meeting of 2026 Marked by Exaggerated Claims

President Donald Trump convened his first Cabinet meeting of 2026 on Thursday, where he and his administration officials highlighted their accomplishments on economic growth, housing, energy, and health initiatives. However, a fact-check of the statements made during the meeting reveals several claims that significantly distort or misrepresent the reality on key issues facing the country.

During the meeting, Trump claimed that “$18 trillion is being invested now” in the U.S. economy. This figure appears to be substantially inflated, with no supporting evidence provided by the administration. The White House’s own website lists a significantly lower number of $9.6 trillion, which seemingly includes investment commitments made during the previous Biden administration. A recent economic study published earlier this week casts doubt on whether even the $5 trillion in investment commitments made last year by America’s major trading partners will fully materialize.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner overstated improvements in the housing market, claiming that December home sales rose “to their strongest pace in three years” due to Trump’s policies. While the National Association of Realtors did report that the seasonally adjusted annual rate reached 4.35 million units in December, this represented just a modest 1.4% year-over-year increase. More telling, pending home sales for the same month actually fell 3% compared to the previous year, suggesting the December figures may have been a temporary fluctuation rather than a sustained trend.

The housing market continues to present significant challenges for American consumers, particularly first-time homebuyers. President Trump has openly stated his preference for maintaining high home prices to boost Americans’ net worth, a position that economists warn could suppress construction levels and further reduce affordability for many potential homeowners.

Trump’s statements regarding California wildfire recovery efforts also contained significant inaccuracies. He claimed only “three houses” were being rebuilt out of thousands destroyed in the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires due to permitting issues. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order directing FEMA and the SBA to create regulations that would override state and local permitting rules.

However, official data from Los Angeles county and city authorities show that approximately 3,100 permits have been issued within the Palisades and Eaton fire zones as of Thursday. While fewer than a dozen residences have been completely rebuilt, about 900 homes are currently under construction. California Governor Gavin Newsom disputed Trump’s characterization, stating that local officials are processing permits quickly, and called on the administration to approve the state’s $33.9 billion disaster aid request.

Experts note that permits aren’t necessarily the primary obstacle for fire victims, as many households continue to struggle with insurance payouts that fall short of actual rebuilding costs. Andrew Rumbach, co-lead of the Climate and Communities Program at the Urban Institute, pointed out that it typically takes about 18 months after a major wildfire for the permitting process to gain momentum, citing recovery patterns from the 2021 Boulder, Colorado fire as an example.

The president also made an erroneous claim about California water supplies, stating that officials “should have allowed the water to come down from the Pacific Northwest” to fight the wildfires. In reality, no water supply system connects the Pacific Northwest to California. Most of California’s water comes from mountain snowmelt in the northern part of the state, which flows into river systems and is then distributed southward through state and federal canal networks.

Throughout the meeting, Trump repeated several other questionable assertions, including claims that his administration had “extinguished eight wars” in his first year back in office, a statistic that analysts describe as highly exaggerated. He also made misleading statements about coal production and China’s use of wind energy technology.

The 2025 Los Angeles wildfires were among the most destructive in California’s history, killing 31 people and destroying approximately 13,000 residential properties, highlighting the ongoing challenges of disaster recovery and climate resilience facing the nation.