Tag: gavin newsom

Newsom faces backlash over $33K taxpayer-funded portrait amid state financial strain

California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing significant criticism after including $33,000 for a formal portrait of himself in the state’s proposed 2026-2027 budget, amid increasing concerns over budget deficits and rising costs of living in the Golden State.

The budget proposal prompted backlash from both Republicans and Democrats, with opponents arguing that Newsom (D-Calif.) is neglecting pressing issues such as soaring housing costs, high gas prices and expensive health care services.

The timing of the governor’s request adds fuel to the ongoing debate surrounding his final, record-setting $349.9 billion budget proposal. The $33,000 would allegedly be pulled from California’s General Fund.

While the administration maintained that the massive spending plan was designed to protect core state services and invest in California’s long-term infrastructure, fiscal critics argued that even small, symbolic line items like the portrait allocation represents an out-of-touch approach to government spending while ordinary residents face severe financial hardships.

The money is reportedly set aside for the “traditional painting of the Governor’s portrait” which would eventually hang inside the California State Capitol alongside portraits of previous governors. However, the proposal comes during a time when lawmakers remain extremely cautious about new discretionary spending due to the state’s long-term financial challenges.

State Senator Suzette Valladares (R-Calif.) sharply criticized Newsom’s budget and emphasized the poor timing of the proposal.

“Only in Sacramento would a governor look at struggling families and think, ‘You know what this moment needs? A painting of me,’” Valladares said.

Assembly member Alexandra M. Macedo (R-Calif,) also mocked the proposal while rebuking Newsom’s controversial high-speed rail project.

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Newsom signs bill restricting law enforcement access to California ballots

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday aimed at tightening California’s election security rules ahead of the June 2 statewide primary.

Senate Bill 73 takes effect immediately. It limits when law enforcement can access ballots, voter lists, rosters or certified voting technology.

The bill comes after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized more than 650,000 ballots from last fall’s Proposition 50 Special Election. The investigation was later halted amid legal challenges from California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“We have to clarify the rules of engagement. That’s why this legislation is important. There are fines associated with it, criminal fines, and jail time, three years,” Newsom said at Wednesday’s signing ceremony.

The bill prohibits peace officers from interfering with election administration, except in urgent public health or safety situations. It also requires a court order before law enforcement can take possession of key election materials. Removing packages containing voted ballots from the custody of elections officials would also be a crime. The law allows civil penalties of up to $50,000 for ballot custody violations.

The measure also directs the attorney general to issue guidance to local election workers on how to respond to law enforcement requests.

“SB73 puts in protections to ensure that ballots will be secured and that voters have confidence in our election system that their voices will be heard at the ballot box,” said California State Senator Sabrina Cervantes, one of the primary authors of the law.

Bianco, who is running as a Republican candidate for California governor, said he seized the ballots as part of an investigation into claims of voting discrepancies. Election officials disputed those claims.

Bianco later called the effort to halt his investigation “politically motivated.”

The bill signing came on the same day Assembly Democrats brought 23 separate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related bills to a floor vote.

That legislation includes restricting federal law enforcement presence near polling places, stopping ICE officers from becoming California peace officers, requiring hotels to notify workers and guests when ICE has a reservation on site and withholding state tax breaks from companies that contract with the Department of Homeland Security.

“Don’t do that, man,” Republican Assemblymember James Gallagher said. “There’s several people on that side of the aisle I’m looking at. You know that’s wrong.”

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How Gavin Newsom Subsidized the Migrant Invasion

Former President Joe Biden’s administration oversaw an unprecedented wave of migration across the southwestern border of the United States. Migrants convoyed in “caravans” in hopes of overwhelming border authorities. Cartels trafficked drugs and people in droves. At some points, American authorities estimated that more than 130,000 people were crossing into the U.S. each month; arrivals came not just from Latin America but every corner of the earth.

At the height of this drama, some border states sought to stop the wave of illegal immigration on their own. Texas dispatched thousands of National Guard soldiers and spun razor-wire barriers across the desert. Arizona sent construction cranes to stack hundreds of shipping containers into a makeshift border wall near Yuma. Then-Arizona Governor Doug Ducey called it a “border crisis.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott called it an “invasion.”

California, on the other hand, welcomed the flood. In this City Journal investigation, we have traced the money and can reveal that Governor Gavin Newsom has granted approximately $1 billion to an army of nonprofits that has encouraged unchecked numbers of migrants to enter the country, fought deportation orders in the courts, and led street protests against ICE. These groups often operate under the guise of “humanitarianism” or “immigration justice,” but many, as we have uncovered, are in fact left-wing activist groups that use propaganda, lawfare, and street protests to transform America’s demographics and build political power for California Democrats—all on the public dime.

This is the story of how Gavin Newsom subsidized the illegal invasion and turned a wave of desperate people into pawns in his political game.

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Gavin Newsom Finally Cleaned Up a Homeless Encampment – In Front of the Home of One of His Rich, Connected Friends

Apparently, Gavin Newsom does know how to clean up homeless encampments – as long as they’re in the way of one of his wealthy, politically connected friends. That just happened in Oakland, California.

It’s just like the time a few years ago when Newsom cleaned up the streets of San Francisco for a few days because officials from China were coming to visit the city. Some people matter. Not you, of course, just the famous and powerful people.

This is so insulting because it is a reminder that people do not have to live this way. It’s just being allowed to happen because people like Gavin Newsom don’t care about the average American. Just their connected friends in their inner circle.

Breitbart News reports:

Gavin Newsom Intervened to Clear Homeless Encampment Outside Super Bowl Champ Marshawn Lynch’s Home

Many Californians are wondering just what they have to do to get Governor Gavin Newsom to get the homeless off the streets. As it turns out, all you need to do is be one of his celebrity buddies.

According to text messages obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsom’s office became very proactive in helping clear a homeless encampment outside the home of the governor’s friend and podcast co-host, Seahawks legend Marshawn Lynch. Lynch’s agent is also friends with the governor.

The homeless encampment became an issue in 2024, when an RV, a camper, and an SUV set up shop and backed up into the freeway. Lynch was far from the only resident to register a complaint. In fact, Oakland officials received 311 requests to disperse the Dover Street encampment.

However, one particular request seemed to go further up the chain than most.

“I got a call from the Governor’s office regarding a number of RVs that are parked out in front of Marshawn Lynch’s family home,” texted then-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s chief of staff to Oakland city administrators. “The Governor’s office is requesting our support to help resolve the issues in a timely manner.”

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Wait Until California Taxpayers See Gavin Newsom’s Latest Multi Million Dollar Spending Disaster

California Governor Gavin Newsom has managed to outdo himself again, and that is saying something.

The man never seems to meet a taxpayer dollar he is not eager to torch, and this time, he has done it under the warm glow of “helping children.”

The latest fiasco involves a state-funded pediatric hearing aid program that has managed to spend nearly twenty-three million dollars while delivering only a few hundred hearing aids. Lawmakers and child advocates are absolutely fuming over the waste, and Californians are once again left holding the bill.

Five years ago, rather than backing legislation that would have forced private insurers to cover hearing aids for children, Newsom opted for a state-run fix.

The result has been precisely what every conservative predicted: a bloated bureaucracy that devours funds while doing next to nothing for the very people it is supposed to help.

According to state reports, the Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Program has around three hundred active enrollees.

That means each case has effectively cost the state about seventy six thousand dollars.

In the private market, that amount could have purchased thousands of hearing aids instead of footing the bill for more public sector “administration.”

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Gavin Newsom reveals ‘break glass’ emergency plan to block Republican governor

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has a secret “break the glass” plan to prevent California from electing a Republican governor — though he’s stubbornly refused to make an endorsement in the race to succeed him.

The governor revealed the secret contingency plan to prevent two Republicans from advancing in the governor election — as polls show Trump-endorsed Steve Hilton near the top of the field in the packed race.

Newsom alluded to “action efforts” behind the scenes to make sure Democrats aren’t locked out of the governor’s race, saying he “making my case” to “encourage that doesn’t happen.”

Recent surveys show Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra and Hilton as favorites among registered voters, with billionaire Tom Steyer, Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and Democrat Katie Porter trailing a few points behind.

The top two vote getters in the June 2 primary election will advance to the November general election.

Newsom has repeatedly declined to weigh in on the race to succeed him.

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Gavin Newsom’s hearing aid debacle costs California tens of millions as kids suffer in silence

Child advocates and lawmakers are furious with Gov. Gavin Newsom as California’s pediatric hearing aid program has spent tens of millions of dollars on administrative fees while delivering only a few hundred hearing aids.

Nearly five years after Newsom pushed lawmakers toward a state-run alternative instead of requiring private insurers to cover pediatric hearing aids, California’s Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Program had around 300 active enrolled members despite spending almost $23 million, according to a report delivered last month to a state Senate budget committee. That works out to about $76,000 per person.

Michelle Marciniak, founder of Let California Kids Hear, told The Post that the governor’s office has dropped the ball.

“The governor has a budget proposal on his desk that would help more children, reduce taxpayer exposure, and finally reflect years of bipartisan legislative intent,” Marciniak said, noting that Newsom still has time to address the issue in his revised budget coming out Thursday. 

“A child’s development doesn’t wait. It is time to solve this.”

Newsom’s refusal to take greater action to help kids with hearing loss stands in contrast to his action last week to provide free diapers, as well as his swift reversal earlier this year to expand menopause care for women in the budget after criticism from actress Halle Berry.

The state program has received roughly $30 million in taxpayer funding over multiple budget years while serving only a fraction of the children advocates say lack adequate hearing aid coverage statewide.

State Sen. Suzette Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) ripped Newsom by noting that “nearly 20,000 kids are still sitting in classrooms struggling to hear clearly.”

“These are real children whose learning, confidence, and futures are being impacted every single day,” Valladares told The Post. 

“At some point we have to stop funding bureaucracy and start fixing the actual coverage gaps so families can get their kids the help they need.”

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Fmr Newsom top aide admits guilt in fraud scheme, takes plea deal

Dana Williamson, a former top aide to California Governor Gavin Newsom, pleaded guilty to federal fraud and tax charges as part of a plea deal agreement following accusations that she stole campaign funds from gubernatorial candidate and former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Williamson, who served as former chief of staff for the California governor from 2022 to 2024, appeared at the Robert T. Matsui Courthouse in Sacramento, California on Thursday. While there, she entered a guilty plea to charges including conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to Eastern District of California court documents.

“Dana Williamson and her co-conspirators weaponized public trust for personal gain. They stole from a campaign account, fabricated contracts, filed false tax returns, and lied to federal agents … No title and no political connection places anyone above the law,” said FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel in a statement.

The former aide was arrested last November on 23 counts tied to what prosecutors described as a scheme to steal $225,000 from one of Becerra’s dormant campaign accounts to fund her personal expenses, including a $150,000 birthday trip to Mexico, tens of thousands of dollars spent on Chanel and Fendi handbags and an HVAC system for her home.

Prosecutors also accused her of conspiring with Becerra’s former chief of staff Sean McCluskie and lobbyist Greg Campbell to move the money from Becerra’s dormant account to pay for McCluskie’s wife’s no-show job after Becerra was elected head of the HHS under former President Joe Biden, according to prosecutors.

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Watching Porn on California’s Death Row

Under Governor Gavin Newsom, California has sought to transform its massive prison system into a Nordic-style rehabilitation program. Newsom has placed a moratorium on all executions, transferred condemned prisoners to facilities across the state, dismantled San Quentin State Prison’s death row, and turned the notorious prison into a therapeutic center, with art, classrooms, a café, and podcast studios.

As part of this transformation, the Newsom administration approved a $189 million contract to provide new digital tablets—generic, flat-screen devices in a plastic shell—to every inmate in the state prison system, at “no cost” to offenders. The administration heralded the effort to replace inmates’ old tablets—which were piloted in 2018 and given to nearly all prisoners by 2023—as a step toward “digital equity” for “justice impacted” individuals, who could, in theory, use the devices to contact their families, consume “educational” content, and “learn new technology.”

In reality, taxpayer-funded tablets have also been used for more lurid endeavors. In this exclusive City Journal investigation, we contacted dozens of death-row inmates, who told us that prisoners in the state system use such devices to watch pornography and have explicit sexual conversations. Some prisoners, according to a former high-ranking California corrections official, use their tablets to groom minors. Though the state has claimed to regulate explicit content, the inmates told us that users can easily evade detection.

When reached for comment, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the tablets were “tightly controlled education tools” that provided inmates with “access to the Bible, education, and reentry resources that actually reduce crime.”

But inmates told us a different story. For some, the devices have become personal sex machines. In the words of one inmate, California’s death row is populated with desperately “horny” criminals who see the tablets as a way to satisfy their basest fantasies and desires—all thanks to the California taxpayer.

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Gavin Newsom’s ‘Free’ Diapers Cost More Than 3 Times Costco Diapers

The “free” diapers that failed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is handing out will cost taxpayers more than three times as much as Costco diapers.

One person who deals in baby products says it could be as high as eight to ten times as much.

Why?

Because this isn’t about giving new mothers 400 free diapers. Rather, it is about Newsom using a government program to funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to the nonprofit organization Baby2Baby, which is led by an executive who sits on the board of California Partners Project, which was co-founded by Newsom’s insufferable wife, Jennifer Siebel-Ocasio-Rodham Newsom.

As a not-so great American once said, the math ain’t mathing…

According the far-left Los Angeles Times, in its first year, the “state plans to distribute 40 million diapers.”

We also know that the cost of this program in year one is $20 million.

So, the state will pay 50 cents per diaper.

And yet, California is lousy with Costco stores, where you can buy diapers for 16 cents each.

If that’s the case, why is Gavin Newsom forcing taxpayers to pay 50 cents per diaper for Baby2Baby to distribute them when he could simply have maternity wards hand these 100,000 new mothers a Costco coupon for 400 free diapers, which would cost the taxpayers about a third as much?

Did I mention that the top executive at Baby2Baby is pals with Newsom’s insufferable wife?

You see, that’s how the government grift works. That’s how corrupt politicians pay off their pals. It’s all hidden in a compassionate-sounding government program when it’s really a taxpayer-funded payoff.

Allow me to speculate for a moment…

Baby2Baby probably pays a wholesale price for diapers that is much less than 16 cents each. Sure, there’s staff salaries and delivery costs, but come on… 50 cents each? Amazon can deliver them for half that. That leaves a lot of money left over for, say, massive presidential 2028 campaign contributions or direct kickbacks to Mr. and Mrs. Governor.

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