WHAT JUST HAPPENED?: The Capitol today is reeling from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s abrupt decision to pull his public safety ballot measure the night before the vote as he left for Washington to support President Joe Biden. The whiplash hit late last night after a marathon day of committee hearings. Many lawmakers were on their way home or heading to dinner when they were called into Democratic caucus meetings around 8 p.m., where Senate leader Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas delivered the news. The announcement — which landed about an hour after Newsom said he was leaving for Washington — left many Dems in the Legislature frustrated and confused. Some had spent the week whipping votes for the governor and were prepared to stay late on Wednesday so they could place the measure on the November ballot before the July 4th holiday and monthlong summer recess. “The houses were on track to approve it,” said one Capitol insider familiar with discussions around the move. “And the governor pulled the plug.” The insider said legislative leadership had been following Newsom’s lead, but that some rank-and-file lawmakers privately grumbled about the administration’s quickly shifting strategy to try to fend off a more punitive ballot measure backed by prosecutors. Newsom’s decision to scrap his own measure caught many off guard. When asked for more insight on the decision, Newsom’s office directed POLITICO to a lengthy statement he released Tuesday night, which said proponents of the counter-measure ran out of time to add amendments that would have ensured its success. He did not elaborate on the amendments or why they were critical. Behind the scenes, the measure was facing pushback from both moderate and progressive sides of the Democratic caucus. The Legislative Black Caucus said Tuesday it did not support Newsom’s measure, arguing that it would disproportionately harm people of color even though it was less sweeping than the one backed by the district attorneys. Shortly before it was pulled, Black Caucus Chair Lori Wilson said she personally planned to support Newsom’s measure because she saw it as the best way to mitigate the more drastic measures proposed by the DAs. But in an interview today, Wilson said she was relieved to learn that it had been dropped and that she would “have no hand in harming anyone.” "Now it is about killing this measure that will absolutely do harm and it will take generations to recover from," she said. But the ordeal has left many legislative Democrats feeling jaded that they did the governor’s bidding with nothing to show for it. Some members, including vulnerable Democrats, also took hard votes on amendments Newsom sought in legislation to curb retail theft — only for the governor to later pull back those proposals. For months, legislators have grown increasingly disillusioned by Newsom’s efforts to grow his national name ID before a widely anticipated presidential run in 2028. One Democratic lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak candidly about recent events, said Newsom’s decision to pull the ballot measure and travel to D.C. to be with Biden amid the post-debate fallout hit a nerve. “I think the governor has been focused on wanting another job, so he's not doing the job that he currently has,” the lawmaker said. IT’S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com.
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