California Policy and Politics Friday

President Appeals to Supreme Court After Losing Bid to Curtail Food Stamp Aid -- In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the Trump administration said that the lower court order forcing it to send full food stamp payments “makes a mockery of the separation of powers.” Tony Romm in the New York Times$ David A. Lieb, Michael Casey, Scott Bauer and Mike Catalini Associated Press -- 11/07/25

‘I’m wary about this president’: California AG sounds warning about midterm security -- California’s top law enforcement official warned Thursday that President Donald Trump could wield federal power to manipulate the 2026 midterm elections, describing a “disturbing pattern” of efforts to sow distrust about ballot security and interfere with states’ voting procedures. Kyle Cheney Politico -- 11/07/25

How Gavin Newsom built an online influencer machine --When Gavin Newsom needed to hype his redistricting ballot measure, he did it not through MSNBC hits, but livestreamed sit-downs with Substack sensation Heather Cox Richardson, YouTube star Brian Tyler Cohen and TikTok celebrity Mrs. Frazzled. Melanie Mason Politico -- 11/07/25

Poll: Here’s who Democrats think is their leader -- The top response was “I don’t know,” or some similar variation. It made up over one-fifth (21 percent) of responses. “Nobody” garnered an additional 11 percent. Samuel Benson and Anna Wiederkehr Politico -- 11/07/25

FBI urges ICE agents to identify themselves after string of impersonators commit crimes -- Ever since the Trump immigration raids began in Los Angeles in June, local leaders and community activists have criticized agents for sometimes making it difficult to identify them as federal law enforcement officials or refusing to identify themselves at all. Now, an unexpected new group has expressed its own concerns: the FBI. Nathan Solis and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/07/25

What it’s like to visit the ICE detention center in Adelanto -- The facility, roughly 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is on a road splintered with cracks and potholes. Once there, some wait for hours to see their loved ones. Ryanne Mena in the LA Daily News -- 11/07/25

Up to 1,800 flights a day could be disrupted by airport cuts; California to be hard hit -- Five of the state’s airports — Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport, San Diego International Airport, Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport and San Francisco International Airport — will be targeted for cuts, according to a list reviewed by news outlets. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ Aidin Vaziri, Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ George Avalos, Caelyn Pender in the San Jose Mercury$ Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 11/07/25

What Travelers Need to Know About the Coming Flight Reductions -- A day after the Trump administration announced it would cut 10 percent of air traffic at 40 of the busiest airports in the country, airlines, airports and travelers are scrambling to adjust their plans. Christine Chung, Claire Fahy and Gabe Castro-Root in the New York Times$ -- 11/07/25

California prepares for life without Nancy Pelosi -- There was a time, not too long ago, when California enjoyed power in Washington, D.C., befitting its status as the largest, most economically prosperous state in the country. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Pelosi had two announcement videos ready. Only one saw daylight -- Nancy Pelosi’s decision to retire was such a closely-held secret that she filmed two versions of the video she released on Thursday — one to tee up a reelection campaign and the other that she ultimately posted. Dustin Gardiner and Nicholas Wu Politico -- 11/07/25

Why Nancy Pelosi Stands Alone -- Rahm Emanuel on the political genius of the retiring former House speaker. Nicholas Wu Politico -- 11/07/25

Garofoli: Nancy Pelosi was no soaring communicator but a potent one. Six ‘Pelosi-isms’ explain why -- “She was always focused on the fact that you had to sell the American people on what you’re doing, and you needed effective messaging,” John Lawrence, her former chief of staff and the author of “Arc of Power: Inside Nancy Pelosi’s Speakership, 2005-2010,” told me. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Challenging Trump, Pelosi Made History -- The first and only woman to be speaker of the House also was the most powerful and prominent woman in Washington to effectively confront President Trump. Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 11/07/25

Barabak: Nancy Pelosi prided herself on cold calculation. She knew it was time -- Pelosi not only made history, becoming the first female speaker of the House. She became the party’s spine and its sinew, holding together the Democrats’ many warring factions and standing firm at times the more timorous were prepared to back down. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/07/25

Republicans, including ‘cowardly’ Schwarzenegger, take heat for lopsided loss on Prop. 50 -- The state GOP chairwoman was urged to resign and former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the creation of the state’s independent redistricting commission, was called “cowardly” by one top GOP leader for not being more involved in the campaign. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/07/25

Increasingly irrelevant, California’s Republican Party is even more isolated after Prop. 50 -- In recent years, California Republicans wielded far more influence in Congress than in the state Legislature, thanks to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. But since his ouster, and now under Prop. 50 maps, the GOP is increasingly isolated. Maya C. Miller Calmatters -- 11/07/25

Could California’s Prop. 50 be scaled back? There’s already an effort to ask voters to limit the new maps to 2026 -- Orange County attorney James V. Lacy filed a proposal with the California attorney general’s office this week for an initiative that would scale back the mid-cycle congressional redistricting plan approved by voters this week. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the Orange County Register$ -- 11/07/25

Senate rejects Schiff bid to force Trump to consult with Congress on Venezuela -- The Senate voted 51 to 49 Thursday against requiring President Donald Trump to get congressional consent to use U.S. military forces for what Sen. Adam Schiff called “an unauthorized war against Venezuela.” David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/07/25

California lawmakers found money for these pet projects even as they slashed the budget -- Some of the earmarks raise concerns about legislative priorities in a difficult budget year, such as lawmakers spending millions from the general fund on museums, trails, parks and other amenities in wealthy communities. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 11/07/25

Workplace

‘UC workers are going to end up homeless’: 86,000 University of California employees plan massive strike -- In what could become one of the largest labor actions in the University of California’s history, more than 86,000 nurses, health care professionals and campus workers — including those at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley — plan to walk off the job this month, accusing the university of neglecting its lowest-paid employees while rewarding those at the top. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Bad Bunny, ICE presence at Super Bowl spark dueling petitions topping 180,000 signatures -- More than 80,000 signatures have been collected for a petition to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of Santa Clara during Super Bowl LX, amid controversy over halftime show headliner Bad Bunny. Zara Irshad in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Waymo, Alphabet Sued for Bias After AI Allegedly Mislabels SF Doctor as Terrorist -- After two years of trying and failing to sign up for Waymo, friends inside the company told Dr. Nasser Mohamed his Middle Eastern Muslim name set off the AI identity screening. But Dr. Mohamed alleges he couldn’t get a human to correct the error. So now he’s suing the company and its corporate parent, Alphabet. Rachael Myrow KQED Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Wildfire

Federal prosecutors subpoena L.A. firefighter text messages -- A federal grand jury subpoena has been served on the Los Angeles Fire Department for firefighters’ text messages and other communications about smoke or hot spots in the area of the Jan. 1 Lachman brushfire, which reignited six days later into the massive Palisades fire, according to an internal department memo. Alene Tchekmedyian and Paul Pringle in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/07/25

California Fire Victims Urge State to Hold Insurers Accountable -- “We thought we could trust the system,” said a homeowner in Altadena whose insurance policy was canceled only months before the January fires destroyed his home. Katie Benner in the New York Times$ -- 11/07/25

Guaranteed income

Sacramento income program may guarantee $1K monthly to foster youth -- The funding stems from Measure L, a 2022 ballot initiative that allocates some revenue from taxes on cannabis operations to child and youth services. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/07/25

Homeless

What veto drama and a Texas trip tell us about a potential shift in California’s homelessness strategy -- California is under pressure to embrace more temporary homeless shelters and programs that require sobriety, at the potential expense of long-term housing. Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 11/07/25

HSR

Fed up with CA High-Speed Rail, Central Valley city says train can just ‘go around’ -- Frustrated by a proposed change that would keep high-speed rail running through Shafter at ground-level, the town’s leaders voted to reject the new plan with the mayor saying he’d rather see the train just “go around the city” than rip up local streets to create a series of underpasses and overpasses. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee -- 11/07/25

Climate

If Trump’s EPA abandons climate policy, could California take over on greenhouse gases? -- Legal experts, including a former federal official and UCLA professor, say California could go it alone if the federal government stops regulating greenhouse gases. One reason to try is to protect the state’s clean-car economy. Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 11/07/25

Education

Two words in UC Berkeley grant application have led to defunding of 50-year-old program -- The presence of two words — “equity” and “inclusion” — on page 50 of a 5-year-old grant application just killed a program at UC Berkeley that for half a century helped thousands of East Bay teens recognize that they could go to college and even pay for it. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Inflation

‘Do I need it?’ Groceries cost 20% to 40% more than before the pandemic. How San Diegans are making do -- Some have the resources to turn frugal shopping into a sport of sorts — a car that lets them buy in bulk, time to shop for deals, storage space, multiple grocery stores close to home. For others, strapped for space or time, the path to eating adequately while not overspending is more challenging. Roxana Popescu in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 11/07/25

Street

His insulin pump ran dry in a San Diego jail. Review board investigators find no misconduct in his death -- A year after the county medical examiner ruled Keith Bach’s death in the San Diego Central Jail a homicide due to neglect, questions persist over how the 63-year-old’s insulin pump — which he relied on to control his Type 1 diabetes — ran dry. Kelly Davis in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 11/07/25

Also

Walters: California’s pro-housing laws have failed to raise new home numbers -- California YIMBY, an organization founded eight years ago to promote housing construction in response to an ever-increasing gap between demand and supply, held a victory party in San Francisco recently. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/07/25

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are rethinking how they give -- Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan announced Thursday that they are restructuring their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to direct most of its resources toward Biohub, their network of research centers focused on using artificial intelligence to accelerate breakthroughs in biology and medicine. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Musk could become history's first trillionaire as Tesla shareholders approve giant pay package -- The vote is a resounding victory for Musk showing investors still have faith in him as Tesla struggles with plunging sales, market share and profits in no small part due to Musk himself. Bernard Condon Associated Press Becky Peterson in the Wall Street Journal$ Rebecca F. Elliott, Jack Ewing and Reid J. Epstein in the New York Times$ Faiz Siddiqui in the Washington Post$ -- 11/07/25

Supreme Court strips gender self-identification from U.S. passports -- Ruling means new documents, including renewals, will list name and gender at birth instead of current identity. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

POTUS 47

Emboldened Democrats Set to Block New GOP Proposal to End Shutdown -- Senate Democrats were expected to block a new GOP proposal aimed at ending a record-long government shutdown, digging in on their demands for extended healthcare subsidies after election wins this week emboldened the party. Siobhan Hughes in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/07/25

U.S. Consumer Confidence Slides in November -- Consumers’ moods dropped further in November, according to a monthly survey from the University of Michigan, continuing a slide that has worsened amid persistent price increases and an extended government shutdown. Matt Grossman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/07/25

Trump, stung by Republican losses, stands his ground on affordability -- President Donald Trump on Thursday did not appear chastened by Tuesday’s election results, dismissing the cost-of-living concerns that appear to have animated voters across the country. Irie Sentner Politico -- 11/07/25

Here’s Where Trump’s Multiracial, Working-Class Coalition Is Fraying -- Across Virginia and New Jersey in their recent gubernatorial elections, the working-class, Hispanic and Black neighborhoods that helped return Donald Trump to the White House a year ago moved back toward the Democratic Party—even in areas that had swung heavily for him, a Wall Street Journal analysis found. Jack Gillum, John West and Peter Champelli in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/07/25

Trump blasts Pelosi after retirement announcement -- President calls former speaker ‘highly overrated,’ ‘evil,’ ‘corrupt’ as others praise her legacy. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/07/25

Trump administration seeks emergency stay of court's order to fund SNAP -- U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to pay full SNAP benefits by Friday. Marcia Brown Politico -- 11/07/25

Judge orders Trump administration to pay full SNAP benefits -- The Trump administration is appealing the decision, which requires officials to send the money to millions of food stamp recipients by Friday. Marcia Brown and Hassan Ali Kanu Politico Lydia Wheeler and Sabrina Siddiqui in the Wall Street Journal$ Tony Romm in the New York Times$ Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$ -- 11/07/25

Canada’s Economy Starts to Buckle Under Trump’s Tariffs -- America’s second-largest trading partner is flirting with a recession and grappling with rising unemployment. Vipal Monga in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/07/25

Ford Considers Scrapping Electric Version of F-150 Truck -- Once hyped as a ‘smartphone that can tow,’ production of the money-losing EV pickup may be shut down for good. Sharon Terlep in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/07/25

Why Trump’s cuts to scientific research are a big win for China -- China is attracting American scientific talent, especially in STEM fields, partly due to funding cuts and immigration restrictions under President Donald Trump. Katrina Northrop and Rudy Lu in the Washington Post$ -- 11/07/25

Vance is the frontrunner for 2028, Rubio privately confides -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is privately telling confidants that JD Vance is the frontrunner for the 2028 Republican nomination and that he’d support the vice president if he chose to run, according to two people close to the administration. Diana Nerozzi and Adam Wren Politico -- 11/07/25