Trump, Newsom administrations part of battle over shutdown messaging
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
WEBSITE SHOWDOWN
The blame game over the latest federal government shutdown is playing out well beyond cable news. Just look at government websites.
The California Governor’s Office website said “Trump has shut down the federal government” above a running stopwatch on its main homepage Thursday.
The White House had its own running stopwatch with the headline: “Democrats Have Shut Down the Government.”
Other federal agencies took a different approach with their blame.
“Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse,” the website for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday. “President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”
The Small Business Administration, on its website, also cast blame: “Senate Democrats continue to oppose a clean funding bill, they are stopping an estimated 320 small businesses from accessing $170 million in SBA-guaranteed funding.”
But even amid the partisan attacks, some federal agencies took a different approach.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a key driver of the Trump administration’s controversial deportation efforts, had a surprisingly more neutral tone Thursday.
“Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed.”
GOVERNOR VETO
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his first vetoes since the legislative session ended last month and one of them was Assembly Bill 255. According to its author, Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, the measure was needed to clear up uncertainty over state funding.
California law says that state agencies that run or fund housing-related help for people experiencing homelessness must adopt guidelines that recognize drug and alcohol use is part of the lives of tenants. Haney said there is confusion among housing providers and local governments about whether state funding can be used for drug-free housing.
Newsom, in a veto message, said current law already allows funding for such housing.
The measure had sailed through the Legislature, with 118 of 120 legislators voting for it.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness took a neutral position on the bill. But Alex Visotzky, a senior California policy fellow for the organization, said Thursday that clarity on how sober living programs can coexist with current state policy “would be helpful.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement the veto threatened to stop “progress in its tracks” for providing recovery and treatment beds for people in need of help in the city.
AN AGING CALIFORNIA
Via William Melhado...
After California’s population peaks in 2050 at 40.8 million people, the number of people living in the state is expected to shrink to 39.5 million two decades later, according to the latest projections from the Department of Finance’s Demographic Research Unit.
The changes reflect a decrease in immigration to California and a growing population of older residents expected in the next five decades, the Finance Department said of the most recently updated projections.
Projections showed that the number of people under 25 will drop by more than 3.5 million between 2020 and 2070.
Meanwhile, the number of people 65 years and older in California is expected to more than double across those five decades. The Finance Department anticipated more than 11.6 million seniors will call California home by 2070.
Together these trends will lead to a significant increase in the projected median age of Californians. Today, that number stands at 39 years old. In 2070, the median age is expected to be 50.
California’s racial and ethnic makeup is expected to shift in the coming decades.
Between 2020 and 2070, California’s Asian population is expected to grow from 16% to 21% while the percentage of white people living in the state is expected to drop from 35% to 28%. The percentage of Hispanic and Latino Californians is expected to hold steady at 39% during that 50-year period.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY’LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY. CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.”
— Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statement in response to news reports that the White House is asking universities to agree to a series of terms in exchange for federal funding.
Best of The Bee:
- Prop. 50 Voter Guide: What to know about California’s redistricting measure via Nicole Nixon
- Gov. Gavin Newsom issues first vetoes since legislative session ended via Lia Russell
- CalPERS members voted in an expensive board election. Here’s who won via William Melhado
- Newsom signs elections bills allowing public financing, curbing voting incentives via Lia Russell
- Newsom slams Trump over $1.2 billion cut to California hydrogen hub via Chaewon Chung
