Democrats find their voice blasting Republicans on tariffs, voting, immigration
Happy Friday and welcome to the AM Alert!
ARE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS FINDING THEIR VOICE?
After wading into the trade war last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom continued to double down on the Trump administration after Trump singled out California’s cap-and-trade program as a national security threat, and as House Republicans passed a budget bill that could slash Medicaid funding and green-lighted the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
Newsom was reticent to criticize the president directly in the wake of January’s Los Angeles wildfires, but lately, he’s taken a more combative approach online, calling out Trump’s change of heart on tariffs, Elon Musk’s slashing of the federal workforce, and touting California’s cutting down on carbon emissions.
“Across California and the country, people are standing up to the Trump administration and the unelected billionaires trying to dismantle our democracy and wreck the economy,” he captioned a TikTok of mass protests against Musk and Trump. “Enough is enough.”
Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, led a group of legislators who called upon UC President Michael V. Drake and CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia to immediately adopt policies protecting students from federal incursions on free speech and immigration rights. As of Thursday, the Trump administration had revoked 30 CSU international students’ visas and deported students from UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego, Haney said.
“It is clear that these executive orders are not just targeting students and faculty — they are part of a broader dangerous campaign by the Trump administration to silence dissent and erode democracy,” Haney said in a statement. “California’s colleges and universities should not be strong-armed into being enforcers of federal immigration policy. If we don’t push back now, this authoritarian playbook won’t stop at college campuses.”
Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Sen. Alex Padilla (a former Secretary of State) also charged Republicans with potentially disenfranchising women who change their names after marriage, rural people, and overseas military members by imposing burdensome voter registration requirements after the House passed the SAVE Act Thursday.
“The SAVE Act is a misguided ‘solution’ in search of a problem that does not exist,” Padilla said in a statement. “This is just another attempt by Donald Trump and extreme Republicans to scapegoat immigrants for their loss in the 2020 election.”
“Existing law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal and state elections, and voters are already required to provide election officials with information necessary to verify their identity and eligibility to vote,” Weber said.
UVA: ADAM GRAY VULNERABLE, BUT COULD BOOST DEMOCRATS IN 2026
Via David Lightman...
Rep. Adam Gray’s race to maintain his Central Valley House seat is a toss-up, a new analysis by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics said Thursday.
If Gray wins, he could find some very good news: The Center projects Democrats are now in a position to win control of the House in 2026. Democrats need a net gain of three seats for a majority.
“Democrats became favorites to flip the House as soon as Trump won, and what has happened since then has not really changed that assessment,” said the analysis. The White House’s party historically has lost House seats two years after the presidential election.
The analysis added, though, that “Republicans do have a couple of sources of comfort that may matter if the overall political environment for them is not as bad as it seems like it could be.”
Only three Republicans represent congressional districts that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris won. Democrats, though, won 13 districts that President Donald Trump won.
One was Gray’s district, which Trump won by 5.5 percentage points. Gray won by less than 200 votes over incumbent Rep. John Duarte, a Republican.
Gray won “even as his district swung wildly from backing Joe Biden in 2020 by 11 points to Trump by 5.5, so he clearly ran well ahead of the presidential ticket, but his district is moving against his party.”
The center listed 19 toss-up races. Thirteen are now held by Republicans and six by Democrats. In addition, seven California races were rated as leaning towards the incumbent, suggesting they could be in for a tough race. Among the Democrats in that category is Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno. Republicans include Rep. David Valadao of Hanford.
SATURDAY IS FOR THE (BEER LOGISTICS) BOYS
Assemblymember Mike Gipson, D-Carson, wants to make it easier for beer distributors to sell you a cold one as the Golden State prepares to host the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, 2026 World Cup, 2027 and 2028 Super Bowls, and the 2028 Olympics.
Gipson has proposed AB 233, with support from the California Beer and Beverage Distributors Association, to update state law to allow for distributors to keep locked inventories of beer in trailers onsite at events and sell them to multiple retailers. Currently, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act allows manufacturers or wholesalers to sell beer to licensed retailers from wagons or trucks.
“These world class events are valuable to California’s regional economies,” Gipson said of the myriad sporting events set to take place in California. “I am pleased to author AB 233 to fine tune and optimize our statutes to support the men and women who work to ensure these events are successful.”
The Assembly Appropriations committee passed AB 233 14-0 Wednesday, and it now heads to the consent calendar.
GIANT SNAKE SLITHERS TO THE SENATE FLOOR
Via William Melhado...
California is one step closer toward getting an official state snake. Legislation by State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, would declare the giant garter snake as California’s official reptilian mascot.
The federally threatened species has seen a population decline of more than 90% in the last 100 years. One of the largest garter snake species, the reptile at the focus of Niello’s proposal can grow to over five feet and was historically found in the Central Valley’s wetlands, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Niello said he was advocating on the snake’s behalf to raise awareness about the species’ role in California’s environment.
“Designating the giant garter snake as California’s official State Snake is more than a symbolic gesture; it’s a crucial step in raising awareness about this vulnerable species and its vital role in our state’s ecosystems,” Michael Starkey, the founder of the conservation group Save The Snakes, said in a statement.
With nearly all of the state’s wetlands gone, rice fields and canals are the primary habitats of the snake species, California Rice Commission President and CEO Tim Johnson said in a statement. Johnson said farmers and researchers are working to ensure agriculture fields can serve as a better habitat for these snakes.
California is not alone in its love for garter snakes. Virginia and Massachusetts have recognized other garter snake species as official state reptiles.
Niello’s proposal passed the Governmental Organization Committee earlier this week and is currently slithering its way to the Senate floor.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It wasn’t all that long ago that it was, ‘We’re going to have internet in our schools!’ Now let’s see A1, and how can that be helpful.”
- Education Secretary Linda McMahon mistaking artificial intelligence for the steak sauce at an education and tech conference in San Diego
Best of The Bee:
- A major roadblock stands in California’s way to a transformed prison system, via William Melhado
Lawsuits filed over downtown building leased by CapRadio and Sacramento State, via Ishani Desai
Sacramento-area schools await California response to federal funding threats, via Rosalio Ahumada & Jennah Pendleton
‘Sacramento’ director and star says the city is “indispensible” to the film, via Graham Womack
