In the wake of the ongoing violent riots in Los Angeles, a Republican senator has proposed stripping the 2028 Olympics from the city, saying that LA should also not be able to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026 because of California officials’ inability to quell the violence.
For context, on June 11, 2025, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) suggested that the 2028 Olympics should be moved because of the continuing unrest in Los Angeles, making his case at a Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing, in which he said the decision should be made “now.”
During the hearing, Sen. Moreno began by calling attention to the violent anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, which broke out on June 6, saying, “Obviously, we’re all seeing the same thing on the news every night for the last three or four nights. It looks like law and order has completely gone downhill in Los Angeles and throughout California.”
Continuing, the senator, referring to Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, said, “You have a governor who refuses to follow the law. You have a mayor who doesn’t see a problem with looting. They both blame it on issues around deportations, which obviously have nothing to do with why someone would go in and pillage a store or commit robbery.”
Next, Sen. Moreno said that he had to ask an “obvious question” in light of the ongoing violence and the inept response from Gov. Newsom and Mayor Bass, going on to say, “The obvious question on the minds of most Americans is this: Given that these two big events coming up in 2026 and 2028 will feature the same political leadership in California and Los Angeles, shouldn’t we just make a decision now to say they’re incapable of handling high-profile events like this?”
Building on his point, the senator asked, “Aren’t we better off as a nation just acknowledging that reality and moving these events to someplace that actually will maintain law and order, and that will have the proper amount of protections for American citizens and the tens of millions of visitors coming to both events?” He added, “Why fight an uphill battle with what is clearly an administration—both locally and at the state level—that’s unwilling to follow basic civil protections?”
In response to Sen. Moreno’s statements, Reynold Hoover, head of the LA28 Olympic Organizing Committee, argued that there was “no place in the world like LA to host the world’s largest Olympics ever.” He added, “My experience in the year I’ve been here is that the coordination and cooperation between all levels of government—local, state, and federal—has been extraordinary.”
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Sen. Moreno granted that he shared Hoover’s “optimism for America,” but clarified, “We also see what’s on the TV screens today. Unlike previous big events like this, you didn’t usually have elected leaders who just refused to follow the law. We’re talking about basic issues: people blocking freeways, breaking stones on the ground to throw at police officers, bricks being delivered, canisters being thrown.” He added, “This is total and complete chaos.”
Watch Sen. Moreno’s statements:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video