Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics
 
 
 
 

California Policy and Politics Monday

‘Fight ignorance, not immigrants’: Hundreds march from San Mateo to S.F. -- The peaceful and passionate march was organized by Rights Over Borders, a Bay Area immigrant advocacy group formed by four young women in response to President Donald Trump’s pledge of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Warren Pederson, Emily Steinberger in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/17/25

Colleges, K-12 schools ordered by Trump administration to abolish DEI or face funding cuts -- The U.S. Department of Education has told schools and colleges to eliminate DEI programs or risk losing federal funding. The decision covers race-related programs including financial aid, culturally themed dorm floors and graduation ceremonies. Educators are scrambling to interpret the scope of the policy. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/17/25

Charles Barkley donates $250,000 to help homeless in San Francisco after backlash -- After facing backlash for criticizing San Francisco ahead of this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend, TNT analyst Charles Barkley is making amends. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/17/25

San Francisco archbishop’s marriage advice to Elon Musk goes viral -- The Catholic leader, a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage and abortion, responded to a video of Musk with one of his 13 children that was captioned with a quote from the Tesla CEO that read, “Of anything in my life, I would say kids by far make me the happiest.” “This is lovely. But marry first and love your babies’ mom too,” Cordileone wrote on X. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/17/25

McManus: Democrats belatedly wake up to start battling Trump and Musk -- Democrats in Congress seemed surprised as President Trump fully unleashed Elon Musk to upend the federal government. Can they mount a real opposition? Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/17/25

What would dismantling the Department of Education mean for Southern California schools? -- Even though funding from the Department of Education account for most of a district’s budget, losing any of that money could still be detrimental for some that are struggling financially. Alexcia Negrete in the Orange County Register -- 2/17/25

San Diego researchers face big losses if court allows Trump funding cuts -- In an email sent Thursday, UCSD administration said the campus stands to lose “well over $100 million,” an amount that would affect “our ability to provide specialized lab space, equipment, IT support, utilities and other critical infrastructure needed to conduct life-saving research and innovation.” Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/17/25

As Wall Street Chases Profits, Fire Departments Have Paid the Price -- Desperate to gain control of flames that were raging through Pacific Palisades last month, the Los Angeles Fire Department issued an urgent call for any available personnel to report for possible deployment. Mike Baker, Maureen Farrell and Serge F. Kovaleski in the New York Times$ -- 2/17/25

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Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS -- The unusual request could put sensitive data about millions of American taxpayers in the hands of Trump political appointees. Jacob Bogage and Jeff Stein in the Washington Post$ -- 2/17/25

Fight over Trump’s firing of watchdog reaches Supreme Court -- President Donald Trump’s bid to expand his power to fire executive branch officials reached the Supreme Court on Sunday — the first of many fast-moving legal challenges during the early weeks of Trump’s second term to land at the high court. Josh Gerstein Politco Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Journal$ Ann E. Marimow in the Washington Post$ Adam Liptak in the New York Times$ Mark Sherman and Lindsay Whitehurst Associated Press -- 2/16/25

He’s Spent Years Watching Silicon Valley Take Companies Apart. He Has a Warning for DC. -- A tech insider speaks about Elon Musk’s playbook for DOGE. Derek Robertson Politico -- 2/17/25

A Warning to Trump Targets: The Law Isn’t on Your Side -- Now that Donald J. Trump has returned to office, his fans and foes alike are bracing for him to fulfill a campaign “promise” he made over 100 times — to investigate, prosecute, put before military tribunals and even execute his perceived political enemies. Kimberly Wehle Politico -- 2/17/25

As Musk reshapes the government, some ask: Where are the guardrails? -- In less than a month, Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service has fired thousands of federal employees, frozen billions of dollars in funding, sifted through reams of private data and left many Americans with a simple question: How could this happen? Lisa Rein in the Washington Post$ -- 2/17/25

Analysis: Trump vowed to take politics out of prosecutions. The Eric Adams case tells a different story -- The handling of the Eric Adams case has put a spotlight on how the Trump administration could further politicize the Justice Department. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/17/25

Jan. 6 Rioters Argue Pardons Apply to Charges Including Murder Plot, Child Porn -- Defendants argue that Trump pardons should absolve them of additional crimes, some discovered during investigations of the Capitol riot. Scott Calvert, Tawnell D. Hobbs and C. Ryan Barber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/17/25

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday

California officials detail Trump funding freeze ‘chaos,’ warn another could cripple state -- In court filings, California state and local officials have described “chaos” erupting after the Trump administration initiated a federal funding freeze. While funding has largely resumed amid ongoing litigation, officials say they fear future freezes, undertaken without careful planning through Congress, will be devastating. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/25

Is California government considering oil refinery takeovers? Yes, it is -- California policymakers are considering state ownership of one or more oil refineries to ensure a reliable supply of gasoline as the number of refineries in the state decline. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/25

Barabak, Roth: Pick your battles or all-out opposition? Our columnists debate Trump vs. the Democratic resistance -- Trump and his right-hand man, Elon Musk, bring Silicon Valley’s disruptive mindset to Washington. Should Democrats do everything they can to thwart the president or take victories where they can? Mark Z. Barabak and Sammy Roth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/25

‘Our parks are in danger’: Yosemite workers protest firings, hiring freeze -- Current and former national parks employees and their supporters protested in Yosemite Valley on Saturday over a federal hiring freeze and other policies of President Donald Trump’s administration. The protest — which was scheduled to coincide with the natural “firefall” phenomenon at Horsetail Fall — came a day after the Trump administration fired 3,400 U.S. Forest Service workers. Molly Burke in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/16/25

Yosemite halts camping reservations, with no timetable for their return -- Officials at the National Park Service want the blessing of the new administration before moving forward with what has been a somewhat controversial plan — having to book in advance to visit some of the nation’s most scenic waterfalls, canyons and sequoia groves. It remains unclear when, and if, the new leadership will give the go-ahead to the permanent crowd-control plan. Molly Burke in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/16/25

‘Hurting Tesla is stopping Musk’: Protests outside Bay Area showrooms seek to dissuade buyers -- Bay Area residents are gathering outside numerous Tesla showrooms and dealerships to protest CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in President Donald Trump’s pushes to cut federal funding and close agencies. Molly Burke in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/16/25

‘Community is on edge’: Blips of Trump world bleed into everyday life in S.F. -- As each day of the second Donald Trump presidency goes by, signs of his administration challenging democratic norms at the national level are beginning to creep into everyday life in San Francisco. Michael Barba in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/16/25

 

After Public-Safety Missteps in Palisades Fire, Residents Want Answers -- A couple’s frustrated attempts to evacuate their Pacific Palisades neighborhood highlight fire-preparedness gaps in Los Angeles. Jim Carlton, Marc Vartabedian and Brian Whitton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/16/25

Untangling the mystery of failed Altadena evacuations: ‘There should have been all sorts of red lights’ -- When flames bellowed up out of Eaton Canyon on the evening of Jan. 7, west Altadena did not, at first glance, seem to pose the most urgent challenge for evacuations. Jenny Jarvie and Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/25

California lawmakers want to employ 3,000 firefighters year-round to tackle wildfires -- The plan to permanently hire seasonal CalFire employees is part of a suite of wildfire-focused bills. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/16/25

Workplace

Labor strikes planned at all UC campuses and medical centers, union officials say -- As many as tens of thousands of unionized University of California workers are poised to strike Feb. 26 to 28 across all 10 UC campuses and five medical centers over what the unions say are unfair labor practices. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/16/25

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Stunned federal workers brace for the real-world repercussions of Trump’s purges -- The Trump administration could face political backlash from voters in Republican and Democratic states who suddenly find a host of services vanish. Liz Crampton, Marcia Brown, Danny Nguyen, Ben Lefebvre, Catherine Morehouse and Eric Bazail-Eimil Politico -- 2/16/25

Justice Department fires 20 immigration judges from backlogged courts amid major government cuts -- On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week. It was unclear if they would be replaced. Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 2/16/25

As federal workers and aid recipients reel, Trump’s team is unmoved -- “They get the one starving kid in Sudan that isn’t going to have a USAID bottle, and they make everything DOGE has done about the starving kid in Sudan,” a White House official said. Natalie Allison and Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 2/16/25

Records show how DOGE planned Trump’s DEI purge — and who gets fired next -- A DOGE team plans to fire federal workers who are not in DEI roles and employees in offices that protect equal rights, internal documents show. Hannah Natanson and Chris Dehghanpoor in the Washington Post$ -- 2/16/25

In Seeking Adams Dismissal, Trump’s Appointees Use Legal System to Their Advantage -- The demand for dismissal underlines the degree to which President Trump has long viewed the justice system as a battleground on which power is deployed for transactional political or personal ends. Jonah E. Bromwich, Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 2/16/25

Dems concede Republicans ‘running circles’ around them online as Trump remakes Washington -- The Democratic response to Trump, one Texas lawmaker said, is “too slow and too tepid and not meeting the moment.” Elena Schneider Politico -- 2/16/25

Venting at Democrats and Fearing Trump, Liberal Donors Pull Back Cash -- Demoralized donors are frustrated with Democrats’ failings and worried about retribution from the president. Their frugality has left liberal groups struggling to fight the new administration. Lisa Lerer, Reid J. Epstein and Theodore Schleifer in the New York Times$ -- 2/16/25