Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics		  
 
 
 
 

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California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Trump plan would open California to offshore oil drilling -- Trump officials are planning to propose oil drilling off the California coast for the first time in decades, according to a draft map reviewed by The Washington Post, a move sure to antagonize Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in California. Jake Spring and Evan Halper in the Washington Post$ -- 11/11/25

 

Senate Passes Bill to Reopen Government Amid Democratic Rift -- The Senate passed legislation on Monday night to end the nation’s longest government shutdown, after a critical splinter group of Democrats joined with Republicans and backed a spending package that omitted the chief concession their party had spent weeks demanding. Catie Edmondson in the New York Times$ Bridget Brown, Michael Warren, Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira, Nell Clark and Kiana Doyle Associated Press Jordain Carney Politico Riley Beggin and Theodoric Meyer in the Washington Post$ Ana Ceballos and Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/25

Newsom: Senate Democrats risk squandering Election Day momentum in shutdown deal -- The Democratic Party “rolled over” in Sunday’s deliberations to reopen the federal government, less than a week after claiming landslide victories on Election Day, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/25

The hottest ticket in Brazil just might be a meeting with Gavin Newsom -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t even at the United Nations climate talks yet — but he’s already getting bombarded with meeting requests. Camille von Kaenel Politico -- 11/11/25

‘China gets it. America is toast,’ Newsom warns, blasting US climate drift -- Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the Trump administration Monday for “doing everything to put America in reverse” and trying “to vandalize California’s leadership” on climate, warning that the country risks losing its competitive edge in the clean energy economy. Chaewon Chung in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/25

Newsom brings California to the heart of the Amazon — and the U.N. climate conference -- The visit highlights California’s role as a climate leader and supports its environmental policies, especially since the U.S. has no official federal delegation. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 11/11/25

The Democratic Party’s unlikely new power couple -- Gavin Newsom and Zohran Mamdani are energizing Democrats in distinct ways. Jeremy B. White, Nick Reisman and Camille von Kaenel Politico -- 11/11/25

 

Free speech debate, protests flare at Turning Point event at UC Berkeley -- Attendees of a Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley and protesters against the conservative organization debated whether free speech has at all eroded on the storied liberal campus – but not with each other. Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ Sierra Lopez, Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/11/25

Garofoli: Turning Points USA’s UC Berkeley stop is marked by brief violence, D-list letdowns -- The event was one big exercise in cultural dissonance, with the presenters casting themselves as free speech champions while vilifying those who disagree with them — including protestors demonstrating outside — as fascists. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/25

 

Christine Pelosi announces she’s running for office — but not for Nancy Pelosi’s House seat -- Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, will run for the state Senate, she announced Monday. Pelosi had long been a rumored contender to replace her mother in the House when she retired. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 11/11/25

Prop 50 did better than Kamala Harris in certain California counties. One demographic may be why -- No demographic factor better correlated with the difference in support between Prop 50 and Harris than the Latino share of a county’s population. That is, the more Latino a county, the more it appears to have swung in favor of Prop 50. The less Latino — and the whiter — a county, the likelier it was to have supported Prop 50 by less than it did Harris. Aseem Shukla in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/25

 

California Supreme Court strikes down warning on LAPD citizen complaint forms -- California adopted criminal penalties for filing false claims against police officers 30 years ago. The state Supreme Court held that the LAPD went too far in advising people about those penalties when they file citizen complaints. Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 11/11/25

Scientists and state Democrats seek $23 billion bond to backstop Trump research cuts -- A coalition of California scientists, university employees and Democratic lawmakers wants to establish a massive health and science fund — worth $23 billion — to counteract efforts by President Donald Trump to cripple research funding in the state and thwart universities working to advance medical treatments. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/25

Leases for VA land are millions of dollars under market value, Trump administration says -- UCLA, the private Brentwood School and a parking company are collectively paying only about $2.3 million annually to lease land with a market value of more than $48 million on the Department of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles campus, the Trump administration concluded in a new report. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/25

Water

Colorado River talks hit crunch time as deadline from Trump administration looms -- Western states in the Colorado River basin are racing a federal deadline to hash out the beginnings of an agreement governing the overtapped river. As the clock ticks down, two questions loom large: Just how real is this deadline, and what does it mean for California? Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 11/10/2

Workplace - AI

The AI Cold War That Will Redefine Everything -- The contest is already helping underpin a worldwide surge in tech spending that has juiced the U.S. and Chinese stock markets and unlocked new sources of economic growth, even as it fuels fears of a global AI bubble. Josh Chin and Raffaele Huang in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/11/25

Housing

Massive housing plan would bring 1,800 units to site of abandoned S.F. Safeway -- A new proposal to redevelop an abandoned Safeway in San Francisco’s Western Addition would triple the amount of housing built in the area in the past 20 years, offering a fresh wave of investment for a district where change has long been complicated by its past. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/25

Wildfire

LAFD knew of firefighter complaints about Lachman mop-up and said nothing -- For months, as victims pleaded for information, the Los Angeles Fire Department kept secret that its firefighters were ordered to stop mop-up operations on a small brushfire that continued to smolder and reignited days later into the massive Palisades fire. Paul Pringle and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/25

Education

As tuition keeps increasing, UC students want a bigger say on the Board of Regents -- Of the 26 UC Regents, one student position has voting power. A second student seat is a non-voting “designate.” To increase student representation, UC student leaders are pushing for the second seat to also have voting power. Khadeejah Khan and Phoebe Huss Calmatters -- 11/11/25

Street

Jane Dorotik settles lawsuit that accused San Diego County of wrongly imprisoning her for 20 years -- Jane Dorotik, who spent nearly two decades in prison after being convicted of killing her husband in 2000 near their Valley Center home, has settled a federal lawsuit she filed against San Diego County that alleged she was wrongly convicted because of a sloppy investigation and misconduct by law enforcement and prosecutors. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 11/11/25

Also

Italian Pasta Is Poised to Disappear From American Grocery Shelves -- Italy’s biggest pasta exporters say import and antidumping duties totaling 107% on their pasta brands will make doing business in America too costly and are preparing to pull out of U.S. stores as soon as January. Margherita Stancati, Gavin Bade, Alessio Paduano in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/11/25

Also

Arellano: A front-row seat to Trump’s deportation machine in Chicago -- Trump sent out the message as his scorched-earth immigration enforcement campaign descended on the Windy City after doing its cruelty calisthenics in Southern California over the summer. Two months later, the campaign — nicknamed “Operation Midway Blitz” — shows no sign of slowing down. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/25

Walters: Newsom plays climate warrior, compromiser and coy candidate -- Gov. Gavin Newsom still insists he hasn’t decided to run for president in 2028. But after persuading California’s voters to gerrymander the state’s congressional districts to grab more Democratic seats, he embarked on a flurry of appearances that had the distinct aroma of a political campaign. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/11/25

Hollywood Bowl names stage for John Williams, honoring a decades-long partnership -- The 93-year-old composer, whose music for “Star Wars,” “E.T.” and “Indiana Jones” helped define modern moviegoing, was celebrated Sunday at a private ceremony. Josh Rottenberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/25

POTUS 47

Trump’s pardon for allies who tried to subvert 2020 election is a permission slip to do it again, critics warn -- President Donald Trump’s adversaries say his sweeping pardon for dozens of alleged co-conspirators in the plot to subvert the 2020 election sent an unmistakable signal: If you do it again, I’ll protect you. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein Politico -- 11/11/25

Trump’s affordability push is speaking louder than his words -- President Donald Trump insists Republicans have already won the affordability battle. His actions tell another story. Megan Messerly and Myah Ward Politico -- 11/11/25

‘Complete betrayal’: 2026 Democrats slam shutdown deal -- Senate Democrats’ embrace of a shutdown deal that doesn’t guarantee extended health care subsidies is already an electoral issue. Lisa Kashinsky Politico -- 11/11/25

‘Band-aid,’ ‘distraction’: Experts slam Pulte, Trump 50-year mortgage idea -- The proposal comes after Trump directed Pulte to leverage Fannie and Freddie to ramp up the country’s stalled housing production. Aiden Reiter and Cassandra Dumay Politico -- 11/11/25

Trump Pardons the Husband of a Republican Congressional Ally -- Robert Harshbarger Jr. pleaded guilty in 2013 to health care fraud and distributing a misbranded drug. His wife, Diana Harshbarger, is a member of Congress. Kenneth P. Vogel in the New York Times$ -- 11/11/25

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Verdict in E. Jean Carroll Case -- The president said the assertions behind a judgment that he sexually abused and defamed the writer were “implausible” and “unsubstantiated.” Abbie VanSickle in the New York Times$ -- 11/11/25

 

California Policy and Politics Monday

Fullerton police stop man pointing gun at female driver, only to learn he is ICE agent -- The brief, but tense encounter Sunday, caught partially on video, raises concerns as it joins a growing list of cases of masked and plainclothes agents being mistaken for criminals and vice versa. Brittny Mejia and Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

Supreme Court dismisses long-shot challenge to right to marry for same-sex couples -- The justices turned away an appeal petition from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who defied the court’s landmark decision in 2015 and repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Lydia Wheeler in the Wall Street Journal$ Justin Jouvenal and Mark Berman in the Washington Post$ -- 11/10/25

Newsom: Senate Democrats risk squandering Election Day momentum in shutdown deal -- The Democratic Party “rolled over” in Sunday’s deliberations to reopen the federal government, less than a week after claiming landslide victories on Election Day, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/25

California’s Padilla, Schiff oppose Senate plan to end the government shutdown -- California’s senators said Sunday they will oppose a new Senate plan to reopen the government — a plan that does not extend Obamacare-inspired health care premium subsidies right away. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/25

Southern California’s Main Street economy rattled by inflation, ICE raids and tariffs -- Evidence of economic pain is rippling across Southern California, hitting businesses big and small. Pat Maio in the Orange County Register$ -- 11/10/25

Here’s how many flights have been canceled out of Southern California airports since Friday -- As of Sunday at 2:30 p.m., 89 departing flights had been canceled out of LAX since Friday. Ninety-three arriving flights had been canceled as well. Another 50 departures and 49 arrivals were canceled out of San Diego International Airport. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

California is ready for its climate closeup — with some concealer -- Newsom kicked off his trip on Monday in São Paulo, where he told an investors summit hosted by the Milken Institute that the Trump administration was doing “everything to vandalize California’s leadership in this space, and they’ve been reasonably successful in nine and a half months to put a lot of sand in the gears. That said, we continue to persist, and we continue to thrive.” Camille von Kaenel Politico -- 11/10/25

 

The latest twist in American tech politics? Gavin Newson is a friend -- A sudden thaw between Big Tech and California politicians is poised to change how the industry deploys its lobbying muscle in state capitals and Washington, particularly as it tries to fend off hostile politicians in red states. Brendan Bordelon and Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 11/10/25

Garofoli: Other states should heed lessons of Prop 50 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom often says Proposition 50 is so named because he hopes it will protect elections in the entire country. But states other than California will find it hard to enact their own redistricting plans to counter the GOP’s redistricting of red states. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/25

Skelton: New York’s Zohran Mamdani’s win offers a lesson for Newsom -- One takeaway from last week’s elections: The role model for California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he runs for president should be New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

 

Half a million young Californians aren’t in school or work. Most are men -- If you ask Jodeah Wilson how his life got off track, he’ll say it’s all about money. He needs money for November rent. He also needs money to pay back the tuition he owes for the spring semester at Sacramento State University, which would allow him to re-enroll. Until then, he’s stuck in limbo. Adam Echelman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

Education

His students suddenly started getting A’s. Did a Google AI tool go too far? -- Some teachers say that AI tools, particularly Google Lens, have made it impossible to enforce academic integrity in the classroom — with potentially harmful long-term effects on students’ learning. Carolyn Jones Calmatters -- 11/10/25

‘Fewer children are able to thrive’: California AmeriCorps programs adapt to funding uncertainty -- In April, California AmeriCorps programs lost millions of dollars in federal funding, which was then restored in late August as a result of a multi-state lawsuit. Programs now face an existential threat with a Trump administration budget proposal to dismantle the agency. Lasherica Thornton EdSource -- 11/10/25

Also

Aquil Basheer, ‘visionary’ L.A. trailblazer in gang intervention and violence reduction, dies -- A former Black Panther known as ‘the Commander,’ Basheer founded a violence prevention and gang intervention nonprofit in South L.A. Tyrone Beason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

POTUS 47

Trump pardons Rudy Giuliani and others who backed efforts to overturn 2020 election, official says -- President Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republican’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a Justice Department official says. Alanna Durkin Richer in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

Democrats Fume Over Deal to End Government Shutdown -- The decision by eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus to side with Republicans to advance a bill Sunday night to end the government shutdown drew heated condemnations from other members of the party and reopened longstanding divisions on how best to fight back against President Trump. Katy Stech Ferek and Siobhan Hughes in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/10/25

The 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who voted to end the shutdown -- Most, but not all, come from presidential swing states. Two have announced they are retiring from the Senate after their current terms end, and two are senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. None are up for reelection in 2026. Katherine Tully-McManus Politico -- 11/10/25

Trump Suggests $2,000 Payouts to Americans as He Defends Tariffs -- Days after the Supreme Court appeared skeptical of the legal backing for many of his tariffs, the president on social media Sunday lauded the revenue they have brought in and said the government would soon begin paying down the country’s debt. He also said a payment of at least $2,000 would be made to everyone but high-income earners. Alyssa Lukpat in the Wall Street Journal$ Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/25

Supreme Court to Hear Major Challenge to Mail-In Ballot Laws -- The justices agreed to hear a challenge to Mississippi’s law, a case that could upend similar measures in dozens of states before the 2026 election. Abbie VanSickle in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/25

Immigrants with health conditions may be denied visas under new Trump administration guidance -- Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity, under a Thursday directive from the Trump administration. Amanda Seitz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/25

Trump’s COP30 snub thrusts Europe into a role it’s not ready for -- For decades, the European Union has relied on the United States to act as shock absorber and chief powerbroker at global climate talks. No longer. Zia Weise Politico -- 11/10/25

Feeling Great About the Economy? You Must Own Stocks -- Investors’ rosy feelings about their stock market gains are powering spending—but it’s a different story for everyone else. Rachel Louise Ensign and Rachel Wolfe in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/10/25

Ten seconds in the Oval Office that overshadowed Trump’s drug-price win -- The Oval Office event has drawn scrutiny for other reasons: Trump was caught on camera appearing to fend off sleep for nearly 20 minutes, a Washington Post analysis found. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) dubbed Trump “The Nodfather” online, mocking the president’s seeming struggle to stay awake during the presentation on GLP-1 price cuts. The White House has denied that Trump was dozing off and suggested questions about the matter were inappropriate. Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 11/10/25

Federal Judge, Warning of ‘Existential Threat’ to Democracy, Resigns --Judge Mark L. Wolf, writing in The Atlantic, said he was stepping down to speak out against the “assault on the rule of law” by President Trump, whom he accused of “targeting his adversaries.” Mattathias Schwartz in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/25