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California Policy and Politics Thursday

Gavin Newsom breaks with Democrats on trans athletes in sports -- The Democratic California governor made the stunning remarks in his debut podcast with conservative guest Charlie Kirk. Christopher Cadelago Politico Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ Reid J. Epstein and Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ -- 3/6/25

Trump’s tariffs are already rattling California’s tech sector -- California’s budget experts are in a tizzy after President Donald Trump’s tariffs shoved tech stocks downhill this week, fearing what it could mean for the state’s bottom line. Chase DiFeliciantonio and Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 3/5/25

Medicaid cuts could be ‘highly consequential’ for Valley healthcare, experts say -- Healthcare access in the San Joaquin Valley could change dramatically for people with the highest need if Congress approves its current blueprint for cutting $2 trillion in federal spending that the GOP-led House approved last week. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee$ -- 3/6/25

Surge in California electric vehicle sales could hurt state’s fight against pollution -- California leaders who want to fight pollution now face a quandary — and it stems, oddly, from the rise of electric cars. As more people buy fuel-efficient or zero-emission vehicles, the public’s consumption of gas has declined, and so has the revenue that California draws from gas taxes. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Wildfires. Sex abuse lawsuits. Trump. L.A. County budget is under “enormous” pressure -- The L.A. County government is considering a hiring freeze as its $45-billion budget faces “enormous pressures” from devastating wildfires, a flood of sex abuse lawsuits and a White House threatening to slash funding. Rebecca Ellis and Keri Blakinger in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/25

What does the California resistance look like in a second Trump administration? -- The resistance to Trump 2.0 may not mirror the intensity, anger and emotion that erupted after his first entrance into the White House in 2017. The protests are a bit more scattered, more sober and less intense. Jenavieve Hatch in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/6/25

‘I will not resign’: In the face of likely ouster, a Bay Area sheriff says time will vindicate her -- In the face of preliminary results from a special election that will likely grant the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors authority to remove her, Sheriff Christina Corpus declared again on Wednesday that she will continue to fight and has no plans to resign. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ryan Macasero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/5/25

Newton: Los Angeles police chief takes over in a period of uncertainty and mixed signals -- Jim McDonnell is a cop. That’s hardly a surprise. He is, after all, the newest chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, one of the nation’s most storied, emulated and criticized law enforcement agencies — celebrated by Dragnet, torn to pieces by the beating of Rodney King. Jim Newton CalMatters -- 3/6/25

Walters: California’s list of failed tech projects just added an agency -- While twiddling his thumbs in the powerless office of lieutenant governor 12 years ago, Gavin Newsom wrote a book titled “Citizenville,” touting information technology to improve governance. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 3/6/25

Wildfire

L.A. County sues Southern California Edison over Eaton fire -- The lawsuit is the latest to allege that Edison’s equipment caused the blaze, which destroyed about 9,000 homes and killed 17 people, making it one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Rebecca Ellis and Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Oroville

Northern California town declares itself a ‘non-sanctuary city’ in opposition to California laws -- Oroville, a town of almost 20,000 in Butte County, declared itself a “non-sanctuary city” this week in a City Council resolution that pledged “full cooperation” with federal law enforcement but that officials said stopped short of flouting the state’s sanctuary law. Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/5/25

Education

Justice Department opens investigation of UC system over antisemitism allegations -- The Trump administration has added the University of California system to the growing list of colleges it is investigating over claims of antisemitism, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/5/25

After student protester sued UC Santa Cruz, campus police seized her phone -- A UC Santa Cruz student and pro-Palestinian activist whose cell phone was seized by campus police — while she was standing outside her dorm in her pajamas during a fire drill — filed court papers Wednesday saying the university is violating her rights to privacy and free speech. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

UC Davis responds to backlash over ‘all gender’ locker room design -- UC Davis officials are responding to backlash from right-wing groups and concerned students after announcing plans to overhaul its locker room facilities, replacing traditional men’s and women’s sections with all-gender “universal” spaces. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

College athletes can now make millions off sponsorship deals. Here’s the first look at California’s numbers -- In 2021, California allowed college athletes to earn money, profiting off their name, image and likeness. University records show which student athletes are benefitting and how. Adam Echelman and Erica Yee CalMatters -- 3/6/25

Water

With Rain on the Way, California’s Water Managers Are ‘Waiting With Bated Breath’ -- Back-to-back storms are expected over the next 10 days, potentially bringing a key measure of the state’s crucial water supply up to normal levels. Amy Graff in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

Homeless

Bay Area city backs down after proposing on ban ‘aiding and abetting’ homeless encampments -- The Fremont city council has revised a new city camping ordinance, removing what had become a controversial clause — first reported on by CalMatters — that could have punished those “aiding and abetting” encampments. Richard Procter CalMatters -- 3/5/25

San Jose mayor eyes policy that would allow trespassing charges against homeless residents who refuse shelter -- Mahan views policy proposal as middle ground versus the more extreme camping bans becoming prevalent around the country. Devan Patel in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/6/25

Housing

Los Angeles launches effort to encourage starter homes on city-owned vacant lots -- The initiative, called Small Lots, Big Impacts, kicked off Wednesday with a design competition for architects and others to craft innovative plans for multiple small homes on one lot, with the hope those units will be less expensive than larger options being built by developers today. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Bird Flu

Bird flu spread is ‘slowing down,’ California officials say -- The bird flu outbreak that has been ripping through California farms since August is starting to abate, state health and agriculture officials said Wednesday, heralding “good news” in a health crisis that has sent egg prices soaring nationwide. Rachel Bluth Politico -- 3/5/25

Street

California is spending billions on mental health housing. Will it reach those most in need? -- Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities. Kristen Hwang CalMatters -- 3/6/25

POTUS 47

Draft of Trump Executive Order Aims to Eliminate Education Department -- Secretary Linda McMahon would be directed to ‘take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure’ Matt Barnum, Ken Thomas and Tarini Parti in the Wall Street Journal$ Michael C. Bender in the New York Times$ -- 3/6/25

GOP must cut Medicaid or Medicare to achieve budget goals, CBO finds -- The nonpartisan bookkeeper said there’s no other way to cut $1.5 trillion from the budget over the next decade. Jacob Bogage in the Washington Post$ -- 3/5/25

C.I.A. Begins Firing Recently Hired Officers -- Some officers hired in the last two years have been summoned to a location away from the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Va., and asked to surrender their credentials to security personnel, according to three people briefed on the firings. Julian E. Barnes and Mark Mazzetti in the New York Times$ -- 3/6/25

Who Paid for Trump’s Transition to Power? The Donors Are Still Unknown -- After six weeks in office, President Trump has not disclosed the names of the donors who paid for his transition planning, despite a public pledge to do so. Ken Bensinger in the New York Times$ -- 3/6/25

With Musk Targeting Social Security, Democrats See a Political Opportunity -- Democrats argue that Elon Musk’s criticism of the program and push to squeeze savings from it is a prelude to benefit cuts. Republicans and President Trump say they plan no such thing. Carl Hulse in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

DOGE is driving Social Security cuts and will make mistakes, acting head says privately -- The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner said members of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team are outsiders who are unfamiliar with the nuances of the agency’s programs. Lisa Rein, Jeff Stein and Hannah Natanson in the Washington Post$ -- 3/6/25

Inside the White House’s new media strategy to make Trump ‘KING’ -- The Trump administration has transformed its traditional press shop into a rapid-response influencer operation, and “they’re all offense, all the time.” Drew Harwell and Sarah Ellison in the Washington Post$ -- 3/6/25

DOGE’s play for government data is straining a law inspired by Watergate -- Judges are considering whether longstanding constraints on government can hold up when the government itself seems indifferent to violating them. Alfred Ng Politico -- 3/6/25

White House mum on price relief measures as inflation stings Trump’s ratings -- “The president knows his plans,” a White House official said, while Donald Trump presses ahead with tariffs that economists warn will push prices higher. Isaac Arnsdorf in the Washington Post$ -- 3/6/25

List of federal real estate for sale taken down hours after publication — including S.F. buildings -- Following leaked reports on government real estate that the U.S. General Administration Services, or GSA, is seeking to sell off as part of a sweeping effort to save costs, the federal agency on Tuesday published an official list identifying 440 properties it owns, including two prominent office buildings in San Francisco, that it considers to be disposable. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Aaron Wiener, Hannah Natanson and Jonathan O'Connell in the Washington Post$ -- 3/5/25

Transgender Americans weigh leaving U.S. over Trump’s policies. Some already have -- Transgender Americans fear a slate of Trump administration policies targeting gender-affirming medical care and U.S. passports that recognize their identities. Many are now making plans to flee the country, or have already done so. They are saving money, getting travel documents in order, considering foreign jobs and even applying for asylum abroad. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Trump’s address to Congress revived false or misleading claims on immigration -- During Donald Trump’s campaign for president, he and his allies repeated misleading or false claims on immigration, including that then-President Biden had secretly flown migrants into the U.S., that FEMA used disaster relief money on migrants, and that many immigrants are violent criminals. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

In Mexico, fear and defiance as Trump’s tariffs take effect -- “There will not be submission,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said of Trump’s tariffs. “Mexicans are valiant and strong.” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that Trump might reverse at least some of the tariffs as soon as Wednesday. Kate Linthicum and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Veterans Affairs Plans to Cut 70,000 Employees -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said the department would conduct a broad review of its organization and operations, with a goal of cutting its workforce from about 470,000 to approximately 398,000 people. Victoria Albert, Ken Thomas and Lindsay Ellis in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/5/25

Trump administration lays off USDA scientists at Fresno County grape-breeding program -- For more than a century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service in Fresno County has produced some of the most popular table grape varieties in the nation, including the first red seedless grape in 1973. And it has also been on the forefront of developing raisin grape varieties that can be dried on the vine and mechanically harvested. Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee$ -- 3/5/25

Trump Administration Told to Reinstate Nearly 6,000 Agriculture Dept. Workers -- Probationary employees have fewer Civil Service protections than other government workers who have been in their jobs longer, and have been seen by President Trump and Elon Musk, the tech billionaire leading the downsizing effort, as the easiest to fire. Eileen Sullivan in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

Apple co-founder slams Elon Musk’s ‘sledgehammer’ approach to politics -- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has sharply criticized Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency for its aggressive approach to mass layoffs and government cost-cutting. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

The Recession Trade Is Back on Wall Street -- Wall Street is having another growth scare. Investors entered 2025 optimistic that an already strong U.S. economy could get an extra boost from an administration pushing market-friendly tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. Instead, trade tensions and signs of slowing growth have driven major indexes lower in recent weeks. Sam Goldfarb in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/5/25

Many Chinese See a Cultural Revolution in America -- They are saying it feels something like the Cultural Revolution, the period known as “the decade of turmoil.” The young aides Elon Musk has sent to dismantle the U.S. government reminded some Chinese of the Red Guards whom Mao Zedong enlisted to destroy the bureaucracy at the peak of the Cultural Revolution. Li Yuan in the New York Times$ -- 3/6/25