After voters shunned Kamala Harris and despatched Donald Trump again to the White Home, California Gov. Gavin Newsom instantly positioned himself because the chief of the opposition.
Newsom known as a particular legislative session, in search of cash for lawsuits to “safeguard California values.”
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom mentioned in an announcement. His workplace declared that “This is the first of several actions by the Newsom administration, in partnership with the Legislature, as the governor begins shoring up California’s defenses against an incoming federal administration that has threatened the state on multiple fronts.”
Trump responded with a submit on his Fact Social web site, saying, “Governor Gavin Newscum is trying to KILL our Nation’s beautiful California” and “stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again.’”
Two months later, Newsom’s tune started to vary as horrendous wildfires erupted in Los Angeles and it grew to become evident that California would want many billions of {dollars} in federal support.
Outgoing President Joe Biden promised assist however Trump, visiting the state simply 4 days after his inauguration, mentioned support might hinge on California altering some insurance policies. Newsom wasn’t invited to greet Trump however confirmed up anyway to make good with the person he had denounced so many instances as evil incarnate.
He later signed payments to finance anti-Trump litigation and support to immigrants whereas publicly praising Trump for contemplating a wildfire support package deal.
Final Friday, Newsom dispatched a letter in search of $39.7 billion from Congresssaying, “We are eternally grateful and we are confident that if we work together, Los Angeles will continue to serve as a beacon to the world and securely place the city on solid ground in the coming years as it hosts the FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics — and thrive for the century to come.”
Trump should be laughing about Newsom’s clearly insincere flattery and with the ability to make the governor bounce via his hoops.
So what’s Trump demanding in return for federal support? On his approach to California on Jan. 24, Trump stopped in North Carolina, the place reporters requested that query.
“I want to see two things in Los Angeles: Voter ID, so that the people can have a chance to vote,” Trump replied, “and I want to see the water released, so that it can come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state.”
The primary mirrors Trump’s oft-expressed however unproven allegation that blue states resembling California tolerate voting by undocumented immigrants and different ineligible individuals. The second continues his insistence that California is denying farmers the water they want for crops and Southern California the water it must struggle fires.
The voter factor is foolish and so is Trump’s fact-free obsession that availability of water was an element within the Los Angeles fires. Nonetheless, there’s a real battle between Newsom’s administration and San Joaquin farmers over how a lot water they’ll divert from rivers and the way a lot is required to guard fish and different wildlife.
These aren’t the one potential situations that Trump or Republicans in Congress could impose on federal support.
As Newsom was delivering his request to Washington, Trump advisor Ric Grenell was telling a conservative political gathering that “there will be conditions” on support, particularly mentioning decreasing or eliminating the California Coastal Fee’s energy over growth within the coastal zone.
The scenario is a high-stakes poker sport between two selfish politicians and a reminder that whereas Newsom usually refers to California as a “nation-state” with international affect, it’s nonetheless very depending on Washington when catastrophe strikes.
