President Donald Trump and his administration have been unyielding in their efforts to dismantle left-leaning policies that have permeated the federal government.
This includes a direct confrontation with policies originating from California, a state whose leaders have been at odds with the president since before his inauguration.
"Governor Gavin Newscum is attempting to obliterate our nation's beautiful California," Trump declared on Truth Social shortly after his November 2024 election victory. "For the first time in history, more people are exiting than entering. He uses the term 'Trump-Proof' as a means to halt all the fantastic initiatives that could 'Make California Great Again,' despite my resounding election victory."
According to Fox Digital, Trump's disdain for California's policies spans a wide range, from its sanctuary status for illegal immigrants to its environmental and educational policies, as well as its handling of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots and the massive wildfires that have devastated Southern California.
Trump's longstanding feud with California Governor Gavin Newsom, which dates back to his first presidential term, was reignited during the final days of the Biden administration when massive fires erupted in the Los Angeles area, just before Trump's return to the Oval Office.
"Governor Gavin Newscum declined to sign the water restoration declaration presented to him, which would have allowed millions of gallons of water from excess rain and snowmelt in the North to flow daily into various parts of California, including the areas currently ablaze in an almost apocalyptic manner," Trump posted on Truth Social as the fires raged on, mere weeks before his inauguration.
"He chose to protect a virtually worthless fish called a smelt by providing it with less water (which proved ineffective!), but showed no concern for the people of California. Now, the ultimate price is being paid. I will insist that this incompetent governor allows beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is to blame for this. On top of everything, there is no water for fire hydrants or firefighting planes. A true disaster!"
In response, Newsom's office retorted that "there is no such document as the water restoration declaration that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and ensuring that firefighters have all the resources they need."
Trump has a history of scrutinizing Newsom's handling of wildfires, including a threat in January 2019 to withhold federal funds from California unless the state's forest management services underwent reforms.
On his first day in office in 2025, Trump signed an executive order titled "Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California," which directed water resources to the Los Angeles area.
"The water is flowing in California," Trump posted on Truth Social in February. "These once empty halfpipes are now brimming with beautiful, clean water, and heading to farmers throughout the State, and to Los Angeles. It's a shame they refused to do this during my First Term - There would have been no fires!"
When questioned about the ongoing verbal sparring between Newsom and Trump since Inauguration Day, the White House suggested that the governor should cease "daydreaming about his 2028 presidential campaign" and concentrate on governing California.
"Gavin Newscum has transformed the California Dream into a nightmare violent illegal immigrants invade communities, enabled criminals destroy small businesses, and men compete in womens sports," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox Digital Thursday when asked about the frequent exchanges between Trump and Newsom. "President Trump will always prioritize people over politics because he wants to see the entire country succeed. Gavin should stop daydreaming about his 2028 presidential campaign and prove that he can successfully govern just one of fifty states."
Newsom's office directed Fox News Digital to a Wednesday press conference where the governor touted a $750 million tax credit for films and TV programs produced in California.
"How did you manage to get this through considering everything else that's happening?" a reporter asked Newsom during the press conference about the tax credit.
"I think because of everything else happening this year," Newsom replied. "I think, frankly, the conditions only further the imperative of this. From October when we announced this, to the devastation of these fires, to the reality of what we're up against in the headwinds in Washington, DC, that we're on our own in many respects, and we've got to step things up. And we've got to be more intentional. We've got to be more targeted. And we've got to knit together different economic strategies."
Newsom's troubles escalated on the national stage in June when riots erupted in Los Angeles in response to federal law enforcement conducting raids to deport illegal immigrants.
Riots broke out in the left-leaning city in early June as local leaders, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom, swiftly condemned the immigration raids in public statements while expressing support for illegal immigrants in the state.
The protests over the raids quickly descended into violence as rioters targeted federal law enforcement officials, including hurling rocks at officials, as well as videos showing people looting local stores, setting cars on fire, and occupying a freeway.
Shortly after violence erupted in the city, Trump announced that he would deploy 2,000 National Guard members to help quell the violence, bypassing the governor, who typically activates the National Guard. In response, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for allegedly attempting to "federalize the California National Guard."
"Governor Gavin Newscum and 'Mayor' Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrendous job they have done, including the ongoing L.A. riots. These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists," Trump posted on Truth Social on June 8 amid the riots.
The riots subsided in mid-June following the "No Kings Day" protests on June 14, the same day Trump held a military parade in Washington to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
The Trump administration's Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles on Monday over its sanctuary city policies, which the DOJ claims discriminate against federal immigration law enforcement officials.
"Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News of the suit. "Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level it ends under President Trump."
The lawsuit comes after Trump signed an executive order in April that seeks to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that identify as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants and fail to comply with federal law enforcement.
Newsom lashed out at Trump again in June when reports surfaced that the Trump administration was considering revoking national monument status from two natural areas in California that former President Joe Biden had protected.
"This is just getting petty. Grow up," Newsom said on June 13 in response to reports that Trump was considering abolishing the Chuckwalla and Sattitla Highlands National Monuments.
"If its a day ending in Y, its another day of Trumps war on California," Newsoms office said in a separate post.
The Trump Justice Department issued a memo in July ruling that the presidents power to revoke national monument status can be reversed by future administrations. The White House told Reuters that the U.S. needs to "liberate our federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing."
On June 12, Trump signed a trio of congressional resolutions ending California's restrictive rules for diesel engines and mandates on elective vehicle sales, with Trump celebrating that his signature "will kill the California mandates forever."
"Under the previous administration, the federal government gave left-wing radicals in California dictatorial powers to control the future of the entire car industry all over the country, all over the world, actually," Trump said from the White House ahead of signing the resolutions.
"They approved Governor Gavin 'Newscum's' absurd plan to impose a 100% ban on all new gas-powered cars within a very short period of time," he said. "Imagine this, you can't buy any car other than an electric-powered car, and in California, they have blackouts and brownouts. They don't have enough electricity right now."
The resolutions aim to end California's plan to cease the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, including one ending a waiver issued by the Biden-era EPA that mandated at least 80% of vehicles be electric vehicles in California by 2035, as well as another resolution ending the Biden-era EPA's approval of a plan to increase the number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in California, and another on California's low-nitrogen oxide regulations for heavy-duty vehicles, including off-road vehicles.
Trump was able to revoke the state's rules as they were based on the Biden administration granting the state special permission to exceed federal standards related to pollution. Trump's signature overturned the Biden administration's approval of California's rules.
Newsom labeled the resolutions as an ongoing "all-out assault on California," and announced that the state had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the resolutions.
"Trumps all-out assault on California continues and this time hes destroying our clean air and Americas global competitiveness in the process," Newsom said in a press release. "We are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters."
Trump's resolutions follow a series of executive orders aimed at "unleashing American energy" as part of his 2024 campaign promise to make the U.S. energy independent again, including revitalizing the coal industry by cutting red tape and regulations, and unleashing oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
The Trump administration's Department of Justice announced a federal investigation into California over potential Title IX violations regarding its policy allowing trans athletes in girls' sports earlier in June, following the Department of Education finding that the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation were in violation of Title IX and failed to protect women and girls from sex-based discrimination.
"A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so. As Governor Gavin Newscum fully understands, large scale fines will be imposed!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in June after a biological male trans athlete won multiple girls' state titles in track and field.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Fox Digital in June that the state was working to ensure all students were free from discrimination and harassment.
"Were very concerned with the Trump Administrations ongoing threats to California schools and remain committed to defending and upholding California laws and all additional laws which ensure the rights of students including transgender students to be free from discrimination and harassment. We are reviewing the letter and closely monitoring the Trump Administrations actions in this space," the statement read.
The Trump administration also gave California's federally funded sex education program 60 days on June 20 to remove all references to gender identity or face potential termination of its funding.
California's Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grant has been under scrutiny by the Trump administration since at least March, when the HHS's Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requested that the federally funded state-operated program send copies of its curriculum and other relevant course materials to them for review.
"The Trump administration will not tolerate the use of federal funds for programs that indoctrinate our children," said ACF's acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. "The disturbing gender ideology content in Californias PREP materials is both unacceptable and well outside the programs core purpose. ACF remains committed to radical transparency and providing accountability so that parents know what their children are being taught in schools."
Among the materials ACF found, which it now wants to be removed, was a lesson for middle school-aged students that seeks to introduce them to the concepts of transgenderism.
"Weve been talking during class about messages people get on how they should act as boys and girlsbut as many of you know, there are also people who dont identify as boys or girls, but rather as transgender or gender queer," the lesson states to students. "This means that even if they were called a boy or a girl at birth and may have body parts that are typically associated with being a boy or a girl, on the inside, they feel differently."
Trump's administration put California's high-speed rail proposal, which had been in the works for nearly two decades but with very little progress to show, on notice in February when the administration called for an audit of the multibillion dollar project.
"It's been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in February.
Newsom had touted just in January that California was on the verge of launching a high-speed rail that would ultimately stretch from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The project is expected to cost $106 billion, with federal taxpayers already spending nearly $3 billion on the project, Fox Digital previously reported.
"No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California and today, we just took a massive step forward," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in January. "Were moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network."
The Department of Transportation proposed in a 300-page report in June that $4 billion in grants for the proposed line be terminated.
"Were not going to fund that its out of control," Trump said of the project in June.
"It doesnt go where its supposed to. Its supposed to go from LA to San Francisco now, because they dont have any money ... and they made it much shorter," he added.
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