California This Week...
A possible Fox News gubernatorial contender, legislature chaos, and more punishments for taxpayers
Some things going on around the Golden State this past week you may have missed.
What Will Governor Newsom Do With the Bill to Fund Illegal Immigrant First-Time Home Purchases?
By now most of you have probably heard about California’s absurd new bill to offer illegal immigrants who are first time home buyers up to $150,000 towards a downpayment. I think the coverage of this has been a little unclear. California already has a “first-time home buyers” assistance program. AB1840 prohibits the California Housing Finance Authority from “discriminating” against applicants based on immigration status. So, while the bill doesn’t technically give out wads of cash so illegal immigrants can buy homes, it opens up the possibility of some illegal immigrants getting wads of cash so they can buy homes.
But there’s a problem (besides the obvious). The program handed out 1,700 first-time home buyer grants in June, depleting the fund. The legislature has not appropriated any further funds. The California Department of Finance has told the Governor and the legislature there is no money to fund more applicants.
The program is broke.
My suspicion is Governor Newsom will ultimately veto the bill. He is clearly planning a future presidential run and cannot afford to alienate the middle class. He’ll already be struggling to erase San Francisco’s stench from his campaign. This could be bad optics and bad strategy. We’ll see. Governor Newsom has until Sept.22 to sign or veto
Run, Hilton, Run!
Speaking of the Governor’s office, Fox News Contributor Steve Hilton is rumored to be eyeing a run for the seat Newsom will vacate in 2026.
From Politico:
Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and policy adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, is seriously considering a run to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom in two years, three people in close touch with him tell POLITICO.
While Hilton and his team did not comment when approached for this story, several prominent political figures in the state conveyed that the Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who has been increasing his public appearances and focus on California public policy, is already deep in discussions about a possible run as a Republican.
I’ve known Steve for years, having been tapped as a guest often for his now defunct Fox News show (he is still a contributor to the network). He is perhaps one of the sharpest men I’ve ever met, and he has an incredible wealth of experience in both the public and private sector. He’s also a dedicated family man and brand new American citizen. We’ve had many conversations over the years about his passion for California and what can be done, if anything, to turn it around. I talk to a lot of politicians and talking heads and everyone has ideas…few of them are good. I’ve always considered Steve to be uniquely dialed in to the nexus of culture and politics and what that means in a state like California.
Running as a Republican in this deep blue state is surely a mountain to climb, but no revolution was ever won by good men giving up at the sight of the specter in front of them.
I hope he runs.
The State of California vs. the Citizens
There is no single individual, community or entity in California more hated by our government than the taxpayer. Everything Sacramento dreams up is some form of buzzkill, punishment, or retribution towards the people who have the audacity to act as individuals.
With a basically nonexistent southern border and a corrupt electoral system, some municipalities have had to become more industrious in protecting their communities. The city of Huntington Beach - hated by Newsom through COVID for their refusal to bend to mandates - passed their own voter id law, set to go into effect in 2026 (California currently has no voter id requirements). In turn, the legislature passed a bill making it illegal for any local government to require id to vote.
I wish I were joking.
Last Minute Shenanigans in the Legislature
Everything Gavin Newsom does now is designed to pave the way for his presidential run. The legislature has reached the annual deadline for new bills and Newsom decided to force a vote on his signature oil and gas legislation by strong-arming a special session.
From Jennifer Van Laar at RedState:
As he promised, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation convening a special legislative session on Saturday after the state Assembly and Senate failed to pass a proposal he submitted on August 15 that would require the state's refineries to maintain reserves to allegedly prevent "price gouging" when there are supply shortages. Of course, even analysts within Newsom's administration agreed that the measure would lead to a further increase in prices instead of bringing Californians any kind of relief at the pump.
Democrat legislators balked at the special session, saying they wanted time to study Newsom’s proposal and weigh the impact. They also have several of their own oil and gas bills they’ve been trying to push through. Newsom would not be bossed around, and waited until the Assembly adjourned on Saturday, then called a special session. The Assembly chair proceeded to adjourn the special session.
They weren’t having it.
Per RedState, things were far more heated in the Senate.
But over in the Senate, it was a different story. Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, a Democrat, flat-out refused to convene the special session
Newsom claims he has the legal right to force the special session. The Senate claims otherwise. This isn’t over yet, but it’s clear the Democrats in Sacramento are unhappy with Newsom, perhaps because he has almost completely abandoned his duties as governor as he makes a shadow run for the White House.
The saga will undoubtedly play out over the coming hours and days, but what's already quite obvious is that California Democrats aren't afraid of Newsom anymore, they're not loyal to him, and they're not going to carry his water. That does not bode well for his future career prospects.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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