Major escalations in LA as Newsom, Trump fight over Guard troops

Politico

3 hours ago

Presented by Californians for Energy Independence
DRIVING THE DAY — Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to file a lawsuit early this morning to challenge President Donald Trump's move to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles, his office confirmed.
But that was hardly the only provocation over the weekend. Newsom bristled at the Trump administration's threat to arrest California officials if they get in the way of his crackdown on immigration protests and civil unrest in Los Angeles.
'Arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy. I don't give a damn … Tom, arrest me. Let's go,' Newsom told MSNBC as he recoiled at the statements from President Donald Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan.
The tension in Los Angeles County is only growing as protests enter their fourth day and immigration agents continue to conduct raids.
FIRE WITH FIRE — Newsom had tried to avoid skirmishing with Trump over immigration. But the governor now finds himself locked in an increasingly incendiary power struggle with the president as he fights for control of the state's National Guard.
Trump's move to commandeer control of the troops to thwart protests over ICE raids in LA is exceedingly rare in modern American political history. Not since the civil rights era of 1965 has a U.S. president deployed the National Guard without a governor's consent.
COURT CHALLENGE INCOMING … Democrats — including blue-state governors — were shell-shocked by Trump's sweeping assertion of federal executive powers. Newsom called the move an 'illegal act' and vowed, in an interview on MSNBC Sunday night, to file a lawsuit 'very early' today.
'He's exacerbated the conditions,' Newsom said. 'He's lit the proverbial match, he's putting fuel on this fire ever since he announced he's taking over the National Guard.'
While Democratic officials said the protests were largely peaceful, there were instances of rioting. Videos posted on social media Sunday evening showed multiple Waymo vehicles on fire. In an AP video, protesters blocked off a major roadway, many of them waving Mexican flags and holding signs as traffic came to a standstill.
'Governor Gavin Newscum and 'Mayor' Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots,' Trump posted on Truth Social.
NEWSOM WARNS OF FASCISM … Newsom on Sunday suggested Trump's actions were steps toward fascism.
'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,' Newsom posted on X. He accused Trump of deliberately inciting violence in LA so he could send the military into a major American city.
Newsom urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday to back down as demonstrators clashed with law enforcement. As Blake reported, the governor's legal affairs secretary wrote in a letter to Hegseth that the deployment came without necessary coordination with California officials. Newsom said state and local law enforcement agencies had the protests under control and that federal intervention would only intensify the conflict.
But the Guard might not be the extent of the unwanted federal intervention; Hegseth has also threatened to send in the U.S. Marines. A Defense official told POLITICO that 500 members of the military branch were given 'prepare to deploy' orders and could be sent to the region.
DEM GOVERNORS UNITE … Every Democratic governor in the nation spoke out in support of Newsom on Sunday, releasing a joint statement calling Trump's actions an 'ineffective and dangerous' override of California's authority that sets a frightening precedent. 'President Trump's move to deploy California's National Guard is an alarming abuse of power,' the Democratic chief executives wrote.
GOOD MORNING. It's Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.
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WHERE'S GAVIN? In Los Angeles, meeting with local leaders and law enforcement.
STATE CAPITOL
LEADER LIMÓN? — State Sen. Monique Limón's allies say she is closing in on the votes necessary to succeed Senate leader Mike McGuire, and edging out her top competition, Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, several people with direct knowledge of the race told Playbook.
But several senators and people briefed on the matter said they hadn't seen evidence of Limón securing the votes.
Like McGuire, Limón would be a relative short-timer in the post. She has represented Santa Barbara in the Legislature since 2016, and her final term ends in 2028. McGuire, meanwhile, leaves office after the end of next year — a timeline that has periodically caused succession chatter to pick up in the upper house since his first year as president pro tempore.
McGuire has signaled to colleagues that he wants to stay in his role until next year, an adviser for him previously told Playbook. But he could be replaced sooner, depending on the succession timeline. McGuire's office didn't respond to a request for comment. — With help from Jeremy B. White and Melanie Mason
FIRST IN POLITICO: BUDGET DEAL IN FOCUS — The broad strokes of a budget agreement among California lawmakers came into focus Friday, according to five people familiar with the negotiations, as legislative leaders scramble to close a $12 billion deficit.
As Dustin and our colleague Eric He scooped for subscribers, the deal between leaders of the state Senate and Assembly would look in part to close the deficit with deferrals and various accounting maneuvers, though details were still unclear. Any budget would require a negotiation after passage with Newsom.
Five major points being discussed, according to people briefed on the tentative agreement who were granted anonymity to discuss private negotiations:
DEFERRING HEALTH CUTS: Lawmakers' budget plan would avoid imposing some of the most severe Medi-Cal cuts that Newsom laid out in his May budget proposal by deferring reductions for two to three more years. Putting off such cuts would soften Newsom's proposal to cap Medi-Cal benefits for undocumented immigrants and overtime pay for in-home supportive service providers.
TRANSIT BAILOUT LOAN: Transit advocates had requested $2 billion for a fiscal lifeline to ailing transit systems in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, including BART, MUNI and LA Metro. Now, lawmakers want to provide at least a portion of that relief in the form of a long-term loan, which would help transit agencies cover their operating expenses and avoid steep service cuts to bus and rail service.
PARTIAL HOMELESSNESS FUNDING: Cities and counties have pleaded for more state money to address the homelessness crisis. The Legislature is expected to propose sending $500 million in new funding for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program, which issues grants to local governments. That's less than the $1 billion they received in prior years, though Newsom had proposed no new funding for the program.
REVENUE DEBATE PUNT: Progressive Democrats have floated an array of corporate tax proposals, from targeting offshore tax havens to penalizing companies that employ large shares of Medi-Cal recipients, to help the state address its shortfall while minimizing cuts. Those proposals aren't expected to be part of the initial deal and will likely be punted to a later date, possibly in the fall — depending on the extent to which California loses federal funding.
HOLLYWOOD LIFELINE: Lawmakers overwhelmingly support Newsom's proposal to double the state's film tax credit. Newsom's proposal for a revamped $750 million tax break is designed to lure back production companies that have fled in droves to other states and countries.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and McGuire declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for Newsom.
CAMPAIGN YEAR(S)
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: JOINING FORCES — Former state Sen. Steven Bradford is out of the race for lieutenant governor, but he's still hoping to boost a political ally's fortunes in the contest.
Bradford will today endorse State Treasurer Fiona Ma, as the duo exclusively told Playbook. Ma will, in turn, endorse Bradford for state insurance commissioner. The two previously served together in the state Assembly and have been friends and political allies for over 16 years.
'From expanding affordable housing to protecting taxpayers, she has the vision and experience we need in our next lieutenant governor,' Bradford said.
WAGE WARRIOR — Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis was the only candidate for governor at a recent CalChamber forum to unabashedly advocate for raising California's minimum wage, and her campaign is seeking to capitalize with digital ads pointing that out. 'I was proud to be the ONLY Democratic candidate for governor to advocate for raising the minimum wage, while my opponents turned their backs on our workers and unions,' reads a digital ad written from Kounalakis' point of view.
— Kounalakis at the event said the state should work toward a $20 an hour minimum wage, rather than 'throw poor people under the bus.'
— Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said 'I believe in a higher minimum wage,' before cautioning, 'We can't just keep on raising the minimum wage. We address affordability, and we don't have to do that.'
— Former Rep. Katie Porter at the forum made a similar argument: 'We can't endlessly keep raising wages. It isn't the solution.'
— And former legislative leader Toni Atkins said 'we should be working toward' a higher statewide minimum, 'but now is not the moment.'
ON THE AIRWAVES
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: INJURY ATTORNEYS ASSEMBLE — The beef between consumer attorneys and corporations pushing for tort reform in Sacramento is quickly escalating with dueling ad campaigns.
As Playbook exclusively learned, the Consumer Attorneys of California will today launch digital ads and a website targeting Uber and other companies behind a new advocacy group that's pushing for legislation to limit civil lawsuits in California and other states. The ads accuse corporations of seeking to 'roll back consumer protections and shield powerful interests from accountability in court.'
The attorneys are specifically taking aim at Protecting American Consumers Together (or PACT), an independent-expenditure group that recently urged Georgia lawmakers to pass a landmark tort reform bill. 'It's time to hit the brakes on corporate greed,' states one of the ads.
It's a counteroffensive that comes after PACT launched its own ad blitz earlier this year, with a roughly $1 million buy that includes cheeky spots designed to mock highway billboard ads typical of the personal injury legal industry. PACT has previously disclosed that its funders include Uber and Waffle House Inc.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
FISH VS. FARMS — California's water wars have long pitted fishermen and farmers against each other. But old battle lines are shifting as both sides grow increasingly desperate about the decline in salmon populations, which is triggering fishing restrictions as well as cuts in water deliveries to farmers. Read more in California Climate's interview with Lisa Damrosch, the executive director of a major commercial fishing group that teamed up with farmers on a first-ever joint trip to Washington to lobby for more money for salmon hatcheries.
TOP TALKERS
CAN THEY BE FRIENDS? — The messy breakup between billionaire Elon Musk and Trump appears to have quieted down — at the very least, a shaky detente in the social media strife between the two held over the weekend. The possible truce followed a call between representatives for both sides Friday, as our Washington colleagues Dasha Burns and Julia Marsh reported.
'He's stopped posting, but that doesn't mean he's happy,' said a White House official, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about Trump's reaction. 'The future of their relationship is totally uncertain.'
THE OTHER GIULIANI — Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor and onetime Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is the new head of the White House's World Cup Task Force. He's charged with coordinating the federal government's role in the 2026 games in LA.
As our colleague Sophia Cai reports, the younger Giuliani faces a tough task. The task force promises an 'America welcoming the world' tournament even as the administration bans travel from countries hoping to compete and Trump's policies have inflamed relations with co-hosts Canada and Mexico.
AROUND THE STATE
—- Bay Area residents from the Middle East and Northern Africa are anxious over Trump's recent order banning travel to the U.S. from 12 countries. (San Francisco Chronicle)
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria won't attend Pride in his city, citing objections to headlining performer Kehlani, who has been accused of amplifying antisemitism in their lyrics about the war in Gaza. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
— The Oakland Unified School District could soon exit state financial oversight, but the district could quickly slip back into receivership as it spends its rainy day fund to alleviate a budget deficit. (KQED)
— Rancho Cucamonga, a suburb in east LA County, could be home to the first bullet train hub in the U.S. as Brightline breaks ground on its high-speed rail line to connect Las Vegas and SoCal. (Bloomberg)
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: RAINBOW CITY HALL — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie hosted a Pride flag raising ceremony at City Hall on Friday. Among the politicians in the crowd: Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; state Sen. Scott Wiener; Assemblymember Matt Haney; Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman; Supervisors Bilal Mahmood and Joel Engardio; former Supervisor Leslie Katz; city Treasurer José Cisneros; Honey Mahogany, director of the city's Office of Transgender Initiatives; Community College Board Member Luis Zamora; SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford; BART Board Member Janice Li; and drag queen Juanita More.
While the mood was largely celebratory, Wiener offered a sober take on the state of LGBTQ+ rights in America. He railed against the Trump administration's effort to remove Harvey Milk's name from a U.S. naval ship. 'What a petty, despicable move to remove his name,' Wiener said of Milk, the first openly gay man elected in the U.S.
PEOPLE MOVES — Kevin Orellana will be a legislative assistant for Rep. Vince Fong (R-Calif.), handling his financial services portfolio. He previously was a legislative aide for Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.).
— Josh Korn is now head of public policy at Whatnot. He previously was tech policy head at Netflix.
— Alex Khan has been promoted to principal at Valencia Government Relations Inc., and the firm is rebranding to Valencia Khan Government Relations. He was previously its senior legislative advocate.
BIRTHDAYS — director Aaron Sorkin … actress Natalie Portman … Raphael Ouzan at A.Team … Ria Strasser-Galvis at JPMorgan Chase … Brad Gallant … tech entrepreneur Raj Goyle
BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Sunday): Rep. Ken Calvert … actress Julianna Margulies … author Mel Levine … Kaitlin Kirshner at Microsoft … comms strategist Elizabeth Thorp … Helga Zheutlin … (was Saturday): Blake Johnson at Child Action, Inc.
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