President-elect Donald Trump names Sacramento man to top White House spot. Who is he?

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TRUMP NAMES SACRAMENTO MAN TO TOP WHITE HOUSE POSITION

Amid the flurry of top White House and cabinet-level picks announced by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, one name flew relatively under the radar: Sacramento’s Taylor Budowich.

Trump announced that Budowich will serve as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. Previously, Budowich held a top position with Trump’s Save America PAC and served as CEO of Trump’s MAGA Inc super PAC.

Budowich was the subject of a 2022 Bee story that showcased both his Sacramento roots and his involvement with the Trump campaign. The latter was extensive. And raised some serious questions.

A congressional committee found “credible evidence” that Budowich was involved in activities leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, though Budowich himself denies any wrongdoing. He was never charged.

In 2023, Budowich was called before a federal grand jury in Florida to testify in another criminal investigation involving Trump, concerning the former (and future) president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home. In a post on Twitter, Budowich called that investigation a “bogus and deeply troubling effort” to go after Trump, and added that he would “not be intimidated by this weaponization of government.”

With Trump’s 2024 election win, Special Counsel Jack Smith has signaled that he will wind down that criminal investigation and others, bringing them to a close before Trump takes office in January.

Budowich did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment.

CALIFORNIA AG, COMMON SENSE MEDIA REACT TO NETCHOICE LAWSUIT

Yesterday, we reported that the tech industry-funded group NetChoice has once again taken California to court, this time to block SB 976 from going into effect.

The group contends that the law — which requires social media companies to provide underage users with a chronological (non-algorithm-driven) feed and to block notifications during hours when those users are at school or asleep — violates the First Amendment and “jeopardizes the safety and security of all Californians” by requiring them to hand over sensitive personal information to social media companies in order to use their platforms.

NetChoice already is embroiled in a lawsuit with the state over another law that requires those companies to protect the privacy of underage users; that law is on hold while the case plays out in federal court.

Now, the California Attorney General’s Office and Common Sense Media, which championed the law through the Legislature, have both issued responses to the lawsuit.

First, the AG’s office.

In a statement to The Bee, the office said that SB 976 does not regulate speech.

“The same companies that have committed tremendous resources to design, deploy, and market social media platforms custom-made to keep our kids’ eyes glued to the screen are now attempting to halt California’s efforts to make social media safer for children,” a spokesperson for the office said in an email statement.

The AG’s office said that it will respond to the lawsuit in court and that it is “confident in the commonsense regulation.”

In an email statement, Common Sense Media founder James Steyer told The Bee that “this lawsuit is hypocritical and underscores the fact that there is nothing more important to large social media companies than the profits they extract from addicting young people to their products.”

Steyer said that SB 976 puts users, not social media companies, in charge of what they see online.

SB 976 goes into effect Jan. 1, unless a judge orders otherwise.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“As bad as your day is it’s not as bad as Kevin McCarthy’s.”

- California GOP strategist Mike Madrid, referencing President-Elect Donald Trump’s selection of McCarthy nemesis Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his nominee for U.S. Attorney General, via Bluesky.

Best of The Bee:

• Gavin Newsom bashes Trump, seeks last-minute help from Biden during Washington trip, via David Lightman and Gillian Brassil.

• Sacramento delays reparations and racial equity vote after ‘major changes,’ official says, via Emma Hall.

• Donald Trump taps Elon Musk for new Department of Government Efficiency project, via Jenavieve Hatch.

• Wealthy Californians unlikely to benefit as much from Trump’s tax cuts. Here’s why, via David Lightman.

• CDCR sued for wrongful death after officer fired ‘less lethal’ projectile at inmate’s head, via Rosalio Ahumada.

• David Valadao beats Rudy Salas in key San Joaquin Valley, California congressional race, via Gillian Brassil.

This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 4:55 AM.