In an effort to shield California from anticipated major policy changes from the incoming Trump administration, Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Washington this week to discuss zero-emissions policy and disaster relief with Biden administration officials.
Newsom also met with the California Democratic congressional delegation.
The governor is seeking federal approval for his state’s climate regulations, which he anticipates will be threatened under President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration. Newsom is also aiming for a $5.2 billion reimbursement for emergency COVID-19 funding and updates to the state’s Medicaid program.
Newsom’s press secretary Izzy Gardon told NTD in a statement that “the Governor will advocate for key priorities that advance the health and well-being of all Californians,” and that they are “building on the progress made since President Biden took office.”
Newsom is trying to move as quickly as he can before Democrats no longer control the executive branch after Jan. 20. He traveled to the nation’s capital on Monday and will be returning to Sacramento on Wednesday.
California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican Minority Leader in the state’s lower house, is critical of Newsom’s Washington trip, saying he thinks that the governor should be working to improve the state instead of seeking help from what he views as a failed federal administration.
“It would be nice if Newsom focused on improving things for Californians instead of doubling down on the same failed policies that cost Harris the election,” Gallagher told NTD News in a text message.
Commenting on Newsom’s responses to his election victory, Trump wrote on Nov. 8 on Truth Social that the governor was “stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again.’”
Despite losing the Golden State to Harris, Trump earned 38 percent of the vote in the state this time around, his highest total in the state out of three presidential contests.
Harris, who will be out of public office for the first time in decades come January, is a potential candidate to succeed Newsom, who is term-limited and will not be eligible for reelection when the next gubernatorial election is held in 2026. She was formerly the state’s attorney general and served as its junior U.S. Senator before she became Biden’s running mate in 2020.
If Harris decides to run, it would not be the first time a former vice president ran for California governor after losing a presidential election.
Then-Vice President Richard Nixon lost the 1962 race for California governor just 2 years after he was defeated by John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. Nixon went on to mount a historic political comeback by winning the presidency in 1968. He was reelected in 1972, winning 49 out of 50 states.
Nixon resigned before his second term was finished, after his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill signaled that they would no longer support him when it became apparent that his administration covered up illegal activity related to the infamous Watergate break-in.
