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Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon embark on his final year in office, as he termed out in 2026 and cannot run again for governor. He said he will then announce his decision whether to run for president, as expected. But before then, he must rectify an $18 billion budget deficit and faces the possibility of voters passing a tax on billionaires, which he opposes.
Here is The Bee’s look at the biggest stories involving Newsom in 2025:
Proposition 50
In June, President Donald Trump began pressing red states to find ways to ensure the GOP held on to its congressional majority in 2026.
Newsom publicly mulled a counter challenge in the form of Proposition 50, but initially presented it as a lark. “Maybe we’ll do it here in California,” he said on his podcast in early July. After Trump successfully persuaded Texas Republicans to convene a special legislative session and adopt new districts, Newsom tapped his veteran strategists and operatives to launch the “Yes on 50” campaign.
Four months and hundreds of millions of dollars later, Prop. 50’s successful passage helped smooth the path for California Democrats to net another five seats in Congress and shored up Newsom’s national image as a serious 2028 presidential contender.
Los Angeles wildfires
When devastating wildfires broke out in January and devastated Los Angeles, Newsom promised to work with Trump, offering him an “open hand, not a closed fist.” Trump embraced the governor on the tarmac after landing at LAX to survey the damage, while taking to social media to falsely blame the infernos on Newsom’s leadership and the state’s environmental protections.
Nearly a year later, California is still waiting to be reimbursed for $40 billion in wildfire aid that Newsom asked for after the Palisades and Eaton fires burned thousands of homes and claimed dozens of lives.
Newsom traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month, but did not meet with Trump after he said the White House rebuffed his request for face time with the president.
The Pentagon seizes the National Guard
Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued the federal administration at a steady clip since Trump retook the White House in January. Newsom has weighed in on a few, but it really seized his attention when the Pentagon took control of the California National Guard to suppress anti-ICE protests in June.
Earlier this month, a San Francisco federal court ruled that the White House acted illegally when it seized control of troops to protect federal immigration agents carrying out deportation raids.
The case arguably also marked a turning point in Newsom and Trump’s relationship, ending Newsom’s promise to work with the president and offer an “open hand.”
Newsom trolls Trump
When Trump began blaming Newsom for the wildfires in Southern California, Newsom responded with a fact-checking website. It did little to stem the tide of disinformation proliferating on Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and other sites.
But when the Pentagon took control of the National Guard in June to suppress protests in Los Angeles, Newsom’s chronically online office was ready. Since then, the stewards behind @GavinNewsom and @govpressoffice have posted a steady supply of memes mocking MAGA royalty from Kid Rock to Vice President JD Vance.
The shift from staid press releases and fact-checking queries to posts mocking Trump’s posting cadence has inspired other Democrats to start incorporating their own “brain rot” online strategies into their press shops.
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