California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Newsom’s top lawyer tells DOJ to look at Trump instead -- Gavin Newsom’s top legal adviser challenged Donald Trump’s attorney general pick on Tuesday night to direct his investigatory attention to the president instead of the governor’s wife and associates. Melanie Mason Politico -- 6/17/26

Assembly Democrats unite to tax software, health plans in revenue-raising package -- The California Assembly easily passed bills to increase taxes on software programs and health insurance premiums and extended a cap on corporate tax credits Monday, with the Democrat supermajority muscling in unity past Republican outrage during a late night debate. Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/17/26

Gavin Newsom’s data center gamble -- Likely Democratic presidential contenders are bashing the buildout of data centers in the run-up to 2028. With one big exception: Gavin Newsom. Noah Baustin and Christine Mui Politico -- 6/17/26

Why billionaires are finally waking up to California politics -- For some wealthy donors, this year was the first they made a major donation to influence California politics. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

Unlikely Coalition Begins Campaign Against Billionaire Tax in California -- A surprising array of left-leaning interest groups is trying to kill a wealth tax initiative before the November ballot is finalized. Gov. Gavin Newsom is at the center of negotiations. Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ -- 6/17/26

Harris says Trump targeting political enemies, 'not surprised' DOJ investigating Newsom -- Former Vice President Kamala Harris said the Trump administration’s investigation of Gavin Newsom fit a pattern of the president pursuing his political rivals, reinforcing the California governor’s argument that he’s the target of a vendetta. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 6/17/26

People are betting on elections in prediction markets. Congress is watching -- As Spencer Pratt fell behind in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, an unexpected group began claiming election fraud: people tracking the Republican’s success on prediction markets, the increasingly popular online exchanges on which people can make bets on almost anything. Justine McDaniel and Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/17/26

Aisha Wahab advances in special election to fill Eric Swalwell’s House seat -- State Sen. Aisha Wahab is set to advance to an August special election to represent part of the East Bay in Congress for the last 15 weeks of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term. Wahab had 42.5% of the vote Tuesday night, with votes left to be counted. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

Barabak: Gerrymanders, judges and an alley-oop: A look at the midterm fight for control of Congress -- Today, we discuss political jockeying, litigation and Hail Mary passes. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/17/26

Walters: As ballot deadline nears, will California’s billionaire tax actually go to voters? -- Early 20th century political reformers such as Hiram Johnson saw the initiative process — placing measures on the ballot for voters to decide — as an antidote to a Legislature controlled by moneyed interests. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 6/17/26

 

California men allegedly involved in plot to attack White House UFC cage-fighting show -- Two California men are among multiple suspects who have been arrested and charged for allegedly plotting to kill government officials and others attending the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House last weekend, according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ Brian Rokos in the Orange County Register$ Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 6/17/26

Giants’ Pride hat problem goes national as JD Vance, Scott Wiener weigh in -- MLB responded with routine disciplinary warnings after San Francisco Giants pitchers defaced their Pride hats, triggering political figures to open a new front in the country’s culture war. Shayna Rubin in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

New commission takes aim at California’s broken public defense system -- A new commission made up of legislators, public defenders, academics and advocates seeks to push California — one of just two states that don’t pay for basic public defense — to begin providing resources and enforcing minimum standards for county public defender systems. Anat Rubin Calmatters -- 6/17/26

These California faults are at highest stress levels in 1,000 years. What comes next? -- The San Andreas-San Jacinto fault junction in Southern California — an “earthquake gate” that could determine how far the next major San Andreas rupture travels — has reached historically high stress levels, according to new research. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

California Academy of Sciences faces calls for audit amid $7.3 million deficit -- San Francisco supervisors called for an audit of the museum’s management and finances after a wave of layoffs and the resignation of its executive director. Alyce McFadden in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

Workplace

Rivian lays off hundreds of workers days after launching R2 electric SUV -- The company said the reductions amount to less than 2% of its workforce and affect some service and customer teams. Rivian had 15,232 employees across North America and Europe at the end of last year, according to its annual filing in February with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

ICE

He graduated high school with honors. ICE detained him the next day -- Wilber Urbina Garcia, an aspiring doctor, had just graduated from Jordan High. A routine ICE check-in the next day ended with him in detention. His family migrated from Nicaragua in late 2022, fleeing political persecution, and were in asylum proceedings when Wilbur was detained. Itzel Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/17/26

Education

Some California schools get three times more funding than others. Here’s why -- School funding in California steers a lot to wealthy districts and to those with high-needs students. Those in the middle get a lot less. Carolyn Jones Calmatters -- 6/17/26

Street

Millions of hours of Bay Area police body-camera footage go unwatched. Stanford says AI could change that -- The promise for more than a decade as police departments adopted body cameras was a new era of accountability, where footage would provide a clearer record of an interaction between officers and the public. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/17/26

Also

He spent 19 years in isolation on death row. Then the handcuffs came off -- Most condemned California prisoners will never be released, but some of them gained new opportunities after Gov. Newsom suspended the death penalty. Joe Garcia Calmatters -- 6/17/26

Bay Area company gets CBS to pay after Stephen Colbert’s ‘Peanuts’ music joke -- Stephen Colbert joked during his “Late Show” finale that playing one of the most famous songs in the “Peanuts” catalog might cost CBS money. He was right. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/17/26

POTUS 47

Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and can sell oil freely under deal with the US, officials say -- Iran will immediately take steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once a tentative deal with the U.S. to end the war is signed and will be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions, according to leaked copies of an interim agreement that officials say broadly matches the document. Jon Gambrell, Zeke Miller, Michelle L. Price, Samy Magdy Associated Press -- 6/17/26

Judge Orders Kennedy Center to Make a Plan for Staying Open -- As the Trump administration seeks to move forward with renovations at the center, a judge has asked for its programming calendar. Julia Jacobs in the New York Times$ -- 6/17/26