Newsom Disputes Analysis by USC Professor on Potential Rise in California's Gas Prices
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 7 criticized an analysis by a University of Southern California (USC) professor on the potential impact of refinery shutdowns and state policies on gas prices.
Michael Mische, a professor at USC's Marshall School of Business, had
Two Phillips 66 refineries in Los Angeles are set to close by the end of this year, and a Valero refinery in the San Francisco Bay area will shutter or restructure by April 2026, according to the companies. These and other factors could result in a potential 21 percent drop in refining capacity from 2023 to April 2026, said Mische.
'The collective consequence of the pending refinery exits to the Golden State is potentially devastating to California's economic growth and status as the fourth largest economy,' said Mische in the
'The high operating costs, together with what many consider to be a hostile political and regulatory environment towards refiners ... create an inevitable 'death spiral' for the oil and gas industry. Consequently, refiners are exiting the Golden State.'
The professor included a series of recommendations to roll back regulations and entice refiners to stay in California.
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Brandon Richards, deputy director for rapid response for Newsom's office, accused Mische of 'fearmongering for personal and professional profits' with his report.
'Mr. Mische fails to provide evidence to support his main claim that gas prices could increase by 33.6% by the end of 2025 and 75% by the end of 2026,' he told The Epoch Times in an email. 'Instead, there are a few vague references to 'models' but no details about the model structure, the data used, or how these numbers were estimated.'
In a May 7 post on social media platform X, Newsom also
In response to a request for comment, Mische told The Epoch Times that he worked on a publicly disclosed project funded by the Saudi public investment fund from 2019 to 2021 that sought to diversify the Saudi economy away from petroleum.
'[It] had nothing to do with petroleum. It was the antithesis of petroleum,' he said. 'I'm not an advocate of the oil and gas industry.'
For his latest analysis, Mische said he ran 20 to 30 different variations on models for future gas prices in California, and 'in all instances, we had an increase in price.'
'The real issue is, the price is going to go up,' he said.
Mische also said he didn't conduct the research to make a profit or for personal gain.
'There's no sinister motivation here,' he said. 'I didn't go into it with any profit motivations or self-service.'
In an April 21 letter, Newsom directed California Energy Commission vice chair Siva Gunda to 'redouble' the state's efforts to work closely with oil companies to ensure a 'safe, affordable, and reliable supply of transportation fuels, and that refiners continue to see the value in serving the California market, even as demand for fossil fuels continues its gradual decline over the coming decades.'
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Newsom claims military set to go on ICE raids as he demands a judge stop troop deployment in LA
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What we know about Trump deploying National Guard for LA protests
In June 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to be mobilized to quell protests in Los Angeles, despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections. In a June 8 post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the troops had been successful even though the troops had not yet been deployed on the ground at the time of his post. Spokespeople for Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said bringing in the National Guard would generate more chaos and that the LAPD had already been de-escalating situations in the region. Meanwhile, the Trump administration blamed Newsom for violence and chaos in the city. Footage and images from the protests showed people mocking the troops — deployed on June 8 — while some reports said the military presence sowed more fear and anger among demonstrators. Protests on June 7 for the most part had been peaceful. It is rare for a president to mobilize the National Guard without the express request of the governor of the state. The last time this happened was in 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights protesters, circumventing the segregationist governor at the time. In early June 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a series of raids across the Los Angeles, California, area, resulting in days of protests. Individuals clashed with local law enforcement, but controversy arose when U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. National Guard into the city, despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections. Protests began on June 6 when people gathered in Los Angeles' Fashion District and at the Los Angeles Federal Building in response to immigration raids by ICE. That week, more than a 100 immigrant arrests had taken place in the city. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) federal agents were present to disperse the crowds. But Trump's order to bring the National Guard into Los Angeles that weekend to quell the protests generated anger and resistance from both Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who said the arrival of the troops would sow more chaos in the city. Below, we put together a timeline of the National Guard's deployment and actions, as well as orders from Trump, Newsom, and local authorities. We reached out to the Trump administration, Newsom's office, Bass' office, the National Guard and the LAPD to determine details of the events on the ground and have included their responses below. On Saturday, June 7, around 6 p.m. Pacific Time, Trump signed a memorandum ordering 2,000 National Guard personnel to Los Angeles in order to protect federal officers conducting immigration raids in the city. At 11:41 p.m. Pacific Time that night, Trump thanked the National Guard for "a job well done" in Los Angeles. However, the National Guard had not been deployed on the ground yet. At 12:22 a.m. Pacific Time on June 8, Bass posted on X: "I want to thank LAPD and local law enforcement for their work tonight. [...] Just to be clear, the National Guard has not been deployed in the City of Los Angeles." In a June 8 interview with MSNBC, Newsom said: "[Trump] completely lied. He said in a tweet, that everything's now safe, everything's fine. Is that the case, Mr. Trump? He said because he deployed the National Guard. The guard hadn't even been deployed when he said this. It's Orwellian." A spokesperson for the National Guard told us it deployed troops in Los Angeles on June 8. Per a press release, they began with 300 troops on the ground in three locations across the region — Los Angeles, nearby Compton, and Paramount — with around 500 Marines "prepared" to deploy, as well. A June 8 post on the Guard's official X account showed pictures of the deployed troops: A spokesperson from the mayor's office told us over email: "The National Guard did not arrive in the City of Los Angeles until Sunday morning. Statements from the administration that the National Guard were in the City of Los Angeles on Saturday are false." Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson at Newsom's office, also told us over email, "The National Guard had not deployed until 0200-0400 [a.m.] Sunday, July 8 at three sites around Los Angeles. 300 National Guard soldiers were deployed on the ground." At 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, those 300 troops took their positions at three different sites around the city. The military said on June 9 that it would be adding 2,000 more troops to the ones already in Los Angeles. Some 700 Marines were also activated by the U.S. military. Per a press release: As of today, June 9th 2025, there are approximately 1700 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a California National Guard unit in a Title 10 status, in the greater Los Angeles Area. The activation of the Marines is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency. On the afternoon of June 9, Newsom posted on X: I was just informed Trump is deploying another 2,000 Guard troops to L.A. The first 2,000? Given no food or water. Only approx. 300 are deployed — the rest are sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders. This isn't about public safety. It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego. This is Reckless. Pointless. And Disrespectful to our troops. In sum, as of this writing, the total number of National Guard troops present in Los Angeles, nearby Compton, and Paramount, was around 4,000. Some 2,100 troops were mobilized on Sunday and an additional 2,000 were mobilized on Monday, June 9. Furthermore, 700 Marines were also mobilized to support the National Guard. However, per Newsom's X post from June 9, only 300 of the original 2,000 troops were active on the ground in Los Angeles and neighboring cities. We previously reported on authentic photographs of soldiers deployed to the Los Angeles protests in June 2025 sleeping on the floor. A National Guard spokesperson told us its troops were only deployed to protect federal personnel and property in the greater Los Angeles area. The mayor's office emphasized to us in an email that the LAPD and local law enforcement had already been keeping the city safe. According to Bass and Newsom, the National Guard's arrival only worsened the protests in Los Angeles. The mayor's spokesperson said, "[Bass] has been clear that the deployment of the federalized National Guard has been a chaotic escalation on the heels of raids that have caused fear in our communities." Crofts-Pelayo, Newsom's spokesperson, told us that the LAPD "successfully de-escalated" on June 7 without any need for federal troops. The press office also shared a post from June 8, claiming that in one instance, LAPD "had to protect the Guard." Newsom posted on X that the troops' arrival would only "incite violence" and announced he would sue Trump in court for sending the guard without his permission. We requested a response from the White House to Newsom's claims. Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the administration, told us over email: The only thing that 'caused chaos' is Gavin Newsom's feckless leadership. He is directly responsible for the violent riots and attacks on federal law enforcement. After Gavin Newsom failed to stop the violence, President Trump rightfully stepped in to protect American citizens and restore law and order. According to news reports on the ground, before Trump's authorization the protests were mostly peaceful. Some reports and images showed people clashing with law enforcement in Compton and Paramount on June 7. However, an LAPD press release that night announced that demonstrations remained "peaceful," and that the day concluded "without incident." Reports found that on June 8, the day the National Guard arrived, clashes increased and police deployed tear gas to disperse protesters. Reports showed protesters taunting the National Guard, with words like "shame" and "go home," indicating that they were not welcome in the city. Video showed police firing tear gas at protesters as around two dozen National Guard personnel put on masks. The troops and police appeared to be working together in that footage. Per The Associated Press, on June 8, the "arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents." On the evening of June 8, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told journalists that while he wouldn't have called the troops, "looking at the violence today, I think we've got to make a reassessment." However, by June 9, McDonnell held a news conference about the military deployment and said they were on "two parallel tracks that don't work together, if you will." He added that the deployment of Marines would be a "significant operational and logistical challenge." While rare, the guard can be deployed without a governor's permission. Usually National Guard troops are deployed for emergencies and natural disasters and at the request of governors of various affected states. In this case, Newsom did not request the guard and instead called Trump's orders to deploy a "complete overreaction" that was "purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions." The last time troops were deployed without a governor's permission in the U.S. was in 1965, according to The New York Times. President Lyndon Johnson bypassed the governor of Alabama to send the National Guard into the state in order to protect civil rights demonstrators against violence. Gov. George Wallace, a prominent segregationist, refused to issue orders to the National Guard himself, as he did not want to be seen supporting the protesters. Anguiano, Dani, and Edward Helmore. "Los Angeles Braces for Arrival of More Troops in 'Crisis of Trump's Own Making.'" The Guardian, 10 June 2025. The Guardian, Accessed 10 June 2025. Berman, Noah and Anshu Siripurapu. What Does the U.S. National Guard Do? | Council on Foreign Relations. Accessed 10 June 2025. "Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions." The White House, 8 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. Erden, Bora, et al. "L.A. Protests Maps: How Immigration Raids and Federal Response Unfolded." The New York Times, 8 June 2025. Accessed 10 June 2025. Fortinsky, Sarah. "LA Mayor: Trump Deployment of Troops a 'Chaotic Escalation.'" The Hill, 9 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "Gov. Newsom Tells President Trump to 'stand down' amid L.A. Protests." YouTube, MSNBC, 9 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "L.A. Protesters Clash with Officers as National Guard Presence Draws Pushback." The Washington Post, 10 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "LAPD Chief Speaks out about Deployment of Military Forces to Anti-ICE Protests." YouTube, CBS News, 9 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "National Guard Troops in LA, the Latest in Long History of Deployments during Civil Rights Protests." AP News, 9 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. Peters, Jeremy W. "1965 Was the Last Time a President Bypassed a Governor to Deploy the National Guard." The New York Times, 8 June 2025. Accessed 10 June 2025. "Protests Intensify in Los Angeles after Trump Deploys Hundreds of National Guard Troops." AP News, 8 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. Rojas, Rick, et al. "Tensions Flare Between Protesters and Law Enforcement in L.A." The New York Times, 8 June 2025. Accessed 10 June 2025. "Trump Deploys California National Guard to LA to Quell Protests despite the Governor's Objections." AP News, 7 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "Trump Administration Mobilizing 2,000 More National Guard Troops for Los Angeles Protests." CBS News. 9 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "USNORTHCOM Statement on Additional Military Personnel in the Los Angeles Area." U.S. Northern Command, 9 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "USNORTHCOM Statement Regarding Protection of Federal Property and Personnel in the Los Angeles Area." U.S. Northern Command, 8 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025. "What to Know about Trump's Deployment of the Marines and National Guard to LA's Immigration Protests." AP News, 8 June 2025, Accessed 10 June 2025.
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Stephen Miller meeting with ICE officials was the spark for LA protests and National Guard call-up: report
White House aide Stephen Miller has repeatedly branded the Los Angeles protests an 'insurrection' after fierce backlash to immigration raids. California's leadership is now 'siding with insurrectionist mobs,' and Democratic officials are 'in open rebellion' against the government, according to Miller. But the far-right architect of Donald Trump's anti-immigration agenda appears to have himself lit the fuse, after reportedly rallying Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to 'just go out there and arrest illegal aliens.' Late last month, Miller pressed ICE officials to ramp up arrests after following short of the president's ambitions for record-breaking daily deportations, according to The Wall Street Journal. Federal law enforcement officers needed to 'just go out there and arrest illegal aliens,' Miller told top ICE officials, according to WSJ, citing people familiar with the meeting. Rather than develop a list of targets for arrest, Miller told agents to raid Home Depot parking lots and 7-Eleven convenience stores, the newspaper reported. Miller 'eviscerated everyone,' according to recent reporting from The Washington Examiner. ''You guys aren't doing a good job. You're horrible leaders,'' Miller reportedly said. 'He just ripped into everybody. He had nothing positive to say about anybody, shot morale down,' an official told the outlet. Miller also allegedly bet that he and a handful of agents could arrest 30 people in the streets of Washington, D.C. 'Who here thinks they can do it?' Miller reportedly said. Days later, on June 6, ICE agents descended on a Home Depot in the predominantly Latino Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles — kicking off a weekend of protests centered around a federal detention center in the city's downtown and in the nearby Paramount and Compton neighborhoods. The next morning, Border Patrol agents gathered in a gated industrial office park in Paramount, while word spread on social media that raids were imminent at another nearby Home Depot. Trump later signed a presidential memorandum deploying 'at least' 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, with U.S. Marines standing by, despite objections from Governor Gavin Newsom, who joined officials and other critics sounding the alarm that the administration is needlessly escalating unrest. Miller and Newsom have spent several days trading blows over X. In response to Newsom's renewed lawsuit calling on a federal judge to block the 'unnecessary militarization' of Los Angeles, Miller accused the governor of saying that ICE officers must withdraw from the state if they 'don't want to get assaulted or worse by insurrectionist migrant mobs.' 'The Governor's position is that Stephen Miller has no peer when it comes to creating bulls****, strawmen arguments,' Newsom's office replied. The Independent has requested comment from the White House. Miller — who is from nearby Santa Monica — routinely characterizes the city and greater Los Angeles area as a 'third-world nation' overrun by immigrants. 'A ruptured, balkanized society of strangers,' he said this week. 'Los Angeles is all the proof you need that mass migration unravels societies,' Miller said. 'You can have all the other plans and budgets you want. If you don't fix migration, then nothing else can be fixed — or saved.' In recent days, he has repeatedly accused state officials of criminal activity for supporting immigrant communities, claiming that the entire state has 'aided, abetted and conspired to facilitate the invasion of the United States' and is now supporting a 'violent rebellion' against the federal government. 'Los Angeles and California are demanding the nullification of the election results, of federal law, of national sovereignty, and of the bedrock constitutional command of one national government,' Miller said. Trump appointed Miller as a senior policy adviser during his first term, where he emerged as an influential driving force behind the several key policies, including a ban on travel to the United States from majority Muslim countries and a 'zero tolerance' policy to separate migrant children from their parents or guardians. After an election fueled by Trump's pledge for the 'largest deportation operation in American history,' Miller has become a fierce proponent of the administration's agenda in media interviews and in volatile confrontations with reporters as the president advances a more robust anti-immigration campaign. Miller has also endorsed the concept of 'remigration,' or forcible removal of immigrants and their families that has taken hold among Europe's far-right parties and emerged in the Trump administration's reorganization of the State Department.
