Tenure
Bass was officially sworn in by the Los Angeles City Clerk on December 10, 2022, succeeding Eric Garcetti. The following day, she was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris at a public inauguration event. She officially assumed office on December 12. Bass is the first woman and the second Black person, after Tom Bradley, to serve as mayor of Los Angeles.
Fulfilling a campaign promise, Bass declared a city state of emergency on homelessness as her first act as mayor. By the end of her first year in office, the Bass Administration said that over 21,000 homeless people had been moved indoors.
In June 2023, Bass signed an order to speed up processing for affordable housing developments in Los Angeles. Later that year, she introduced a change to the order that made affordable housing projects in single-family neighborhoods ineligible for fast-tracking. By one estimate, this reversal put 1,443 potential units of low-income housing in legal limbo. In July 2024, she imposed further restrictions on affordable housing, making them ineligible for fast-tracking in "historic districts" and on lots that already have rent-controlled apartments.
In September 2023, Bass expressed support for tearing down the Marina Freeway and replacing it with housing, but she had reversed her support by October 2023 and expressed opposition to tearing down the freeway.
In July 2024, advocates for low-income housing sued the city of Los Angeles for blocking the construction of 140 units of affordable housing in Venice. The housing advocates faulted Bass for allowing local officials to block the housing rather than direct city officials to advance the project. One of Bass's former staffers said that superiors directed them to stop advancing this project through the city's bureaucracy. The Los Angeles Times editorial board criticized Bass for her role in blocking the housing development.
In 2025, Bass supported the Los Angeles City Council in opposing state legislation SB 79, which would allow dense housing near major public transit stations in California. She urged Governor Gavin Newsom to veto the legislation, but he ultimately signed it in October 2025. According to California YIMBY, "This is the most transformative housing legislation that’s ever been signed into law by any governor. Gov. Newsom has cemented his legacy as a courageous leader on housing." After trying unsuccessfully to block SB 79, her administration sought to delay the implementation of the housing legislation in Los Angeles.
In April 2026, Bass signed an executive order aimed at streamlining construction of new residential construction through ordering the Planning Department to investigate reforms like self-certification.
Bass's 2026-27 proposed budget included plans to loosen regulations that restrict the number of short-term rentals in Los Angeles and allow Airbnb to pre-pay a portion of the lodging tax on the units. Both proposals were also submitted to city council and are backed by Airbnb. Many housing advocates, labor unions, and elected officials, including Rick Cole and Monica Rodriguez, have opposed the Airbnb-backed proposals, saying they would further reduce housing supply in the city and fuel displacement. Cole said private companies frequently did business with cities, Airbnb had "offered money to change the law... at the very best, this is collusion." Rodriguez said, "I don’t know anyone in the country running to prepay their taxes, especially any corporations, and it begs the question as to why."
In June 2026, it was reported that around one-third of units under Los Angeles's master leasing program, around 250 units, have remained vacant under Bass's tenure.
At the start of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, Bass was attending the inauguration of John Mahama as president in Ghana, despite promising not to travel abroad during her term as mayor. She returned to Los Angeles by United States military transport. Prior to Bass's departure for Ghana, the National Weather Service issued warnings of "extreme fire weather conditions" and an impending windstorm. When the Palisades Fire first began to erupt, Bass was attending a cocktail party at an embassy, where she posed for photos. Bass's trip led to substantial criticism from across the political spectrum as a sign that she underestimated the risk of wildfires. Caruso, whose daughter lost her home to the Palisades Fire, made repeated television appearances condemning the lack of fire preparation by the city and stating that Pacific Palisades fire hydrants did not have enough water.
Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley criticized Bass for cutting $17.6 million from the annual budget to the fire department. Soon-Shiong noted that severe fire hazard conditions had been known well in advance and that fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades lacked pressure. Crowley warned in December 2024 that the $17.6 million budget reduction approved by Bass had reduced the department's emergency response capabilities against events like wildfires, highlighting a reduction from the department's overtime budget. The $17.6 million budget cut came after Bass had initially proposed a $23 million cut from the fire department's budget. After the cuts made in the annual budget from June 2024, $53 million was later approved by the city for pay raises for firefighters and another $58 million was approved for new firetrucks and equipment in November. After initially declining to respond to criticism, Bass stated on January 9 that "there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation" before refusing to answer further questions about the topic.
On February 21, 2025, Bass fired Crowley as Fire Chief, claiming that Crowley had left the department unprepared in advance of the outbreak of the Palisades Fire. She claimed that she was only in Ghana because Crowley failed to warn her about the fire danger, something Crowley has pushed back on. The decision to fire Crowley was criticized by many, including Caruso, who alongside various media outlets linked the firing to Crowley speaking out about fire department budget cuts.
