U.S. President Donald Trump walks off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House returning from California after viewing damage from that state's wildfires on November 18, 2018 in Washington, D.C. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
THE BUZZ: DONALD DELIVERY — President Donald Trump is set to fly into Los Angeles today to survey damage from the fires still burning there, but California officials don’t know much else.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday afternoon that he hadn’t heard from the president since the end of his first term, but that he’ll be waiting on the tarmac when Trump lands with “an open hand.”
“We haven't had any contact with the White House as of this moment,” Newsom said at a news conference, adding that at least two recent phone calls to Trump have gone unreturned. “I continue to try to reach out.”
Trump has mercilessly pilloried California and its big, blue cities led by Democrats. He’s dismissed Newsom as a failure and used the fires raging across Southern California as the latest example of inept government. Newsom and others have pushed back on the characterizations, and corrected Trump’s misstatements about their fire preparedness. But they’ve also sought to appeal to Trump to put partisan warring aside and deliver for California.
Trump’s response: near radio silence.
That’s left local officials, well, guessing. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath told Playbook she’d heard Trump might visit a fire station in the Pacific Palisades, but she also hadn’t heard from the White House. Others were preparing for a fire briefing and a possible helicopter tour of the fires’ damage.
“The most important thing, I think, for anyone who comes to these sites is to remember that each of these properties represents a family,” Horvath said.
Trump had yet to take office when the fires started. And it’s not uncommon for presidents themselves to wait until the last minute before placing calls to local leaders. But the lack of any contact at all — after fires killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of structures — underscores the chasm between California Democrats and the new Republican president. They have not only clashed politically, but are also at odds over many of the biggest policies: health care, immigration and environmental protections.
Trump will spend limited time on the ground in the proximity of Newsom, whose water policies he has long criticized, and around Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who he accused of “gross incompetence” in wake of the fires. He previously said he’ll also make stops in North Carolina and Nevada during today’s trip.
A Trump spokesperson declined to comment on the trip.
There has been some outreach from his office. Bass has been in touch with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as recently as Thursday afternoon. But she is yet to speak with the man himself.
“The second-largest city in the country has been devastated,” Bass told Playbook. “And we cannot be OK and move forward without the federal government.”
Both of California’s Democratic senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, told Playbook late Thursday that the White House invited them on the wildfire tour. The invitation of Schiff was particularly notable given his feuds with Trump. But they politely declined, citing the Senate’s vote schedule.
Newsom, for his part, expressed total confidence that Trump would come through in delivering financial relief to Los Angeles. It was just one way in which he attempted to set the tone for a drama-free encounter after inviting Trump to meet with victims of the firestorms earlier this month.
“I'm grateful that the president is taking the time,” Newsom said, characterizing his relationship with Trump during the coronavirus pandemic as the best of any Democratic governor in the country. “And I hope he comes with the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. That's the spirit to which we welcome him.”
GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.
The Bianchetti's started their family-owned People's Choice Jerky in Los Angeles, California. When Brian Bianchetti decided to take the business national, he turned to Amazon to reach new customers. Now, online sales are the fastest growing channel for the family business.
PASSPORT POLICE — Trump’s push to roll back federal rights for transgender and nonbinary people is already having a stark effect: all U.S. passports can no longer include “X” sex markers and cannot be changed if someone transitions genders.
“The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an email to department employees.
California LGBTQ+ leaders called it an effort to “dehumanize” and “erase” transgender and gender-variant people. Honey Mahogany, the former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and a trans woman, said the Trump policy also doesn’t reflect the science that many people are born intersex, meaning they have a sexual anatomy that isn’t strictly male or female.
“It does not reflect reality,” Mahogany told Playbook. “There’s a significant number of people who are walking around who are biologically not male or female.”
Democratic state lawmakers, led by the LGBTQ Caucus, said they are drafting bills that would protect Californians who list another gender on government legal documents, though they haven’t released details.
“The federal government is now saying that an entire class of Americans no longer exists,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, a member of the caucus. “This is terrifying.”
STATE CAPITOL
HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW — After the Legislature approved $2.5 billion worth of state wildfire aid on Thursday, the bills containing the money had to be physically transported from Sacramento to Los Angeles for Newsom to sign them due to rules governing their transmittal.
A staffer, who will remain anonymous, escorted the bills through security and onto a Southwest flight — joined by lawmakers who were also flying to Southern California for the signing. A photo of the bills obtained exclusively by Playbook shows them sitting on a tray table, suggesting they did not get their own seat. The legislation enjoyed the in-flight entertainment of its keeper, who was listening to the “Wicked” soundtrack.
They arrived without incident and were signed in the afternoon.
Power shifts, razor-thin margins, and a high-stakes agenda. We’ve transformed our coverage—more reporters, more timely insights, and unmatched policy scoops. From leadership offices to committee rooms, caucus meetings, and beyond, our expert reporting keeps you ahead of the decisions that matter. Subscribe to our Inside Congress newsletter today.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
NOT THE RAKES AGAIN — Newsom and other California Democrats have been trying to do more to clean up the forests since Trump told them to during his last visit to a major California wildfire in 2020. But it hasn’t been enough to stop wildfires — or Republicans’ demands for more. Read about how old environmental arguments die hard in yesterday’s California Climate.
Top Talkers
Then-Sen. Kamala Harris speaks during the California Democratic Party State Organizing Convention in San Francisco, June 1, 2019. | Jeff Chiu/AP
KAMALA 2026? — Kamala Harris established an LLC called Pioneer49 last month in California, according to her presidential campaign’s final financial disclosure filed last week, our colleague Eugene Daniels reports.
The organization is described as an “entity to assist the former vice president” and will likely fuel her next political move, whatever that may be.
COME BACK TO EARTH, ELON — Trump said that it didn’t bother him that Elon Musk criticized an AI infrastructure deal that involves his former foe, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
“He hates one of the people in the deal,” Trump said. “People in the deal are very, very smart people. But, Elon, one of the people he happens to hate. I have certain hatreds of people, too."
But Trump allies and aides are “furious” over Musk’s social media outburst. “It’s clear he has abused the proximity to the president,” one Trump ally told POLITICO. “The problem is the president doesn’t have any leverage over him and Elon gives zero fucks.”
DEMOCRATS’ PREBUTTAL — While local Democrats are presenting themselves as eager hosts for the president’s Los Angeles trip, national Democrats are singing a different tune. DNC executive director Sam Cornale accused the president of “treating families in need as a bargaining chip to force his tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy through Congress.”
“Trump is now even threatening to abandon states entirely, pulling all federal aid for disaster response,” he added. “It’s time for Trump to stop putting his billionaire donors ahead of the American people and do his job. ”
A message from Amazon:
AROUND THE STATE
— Newly elected San Joaquin County Supervisor Mario Gardea’s chief of staff was arrested on suspicion of felony solicitation of criminal acts. (Sacramento Bee)
— Fresno County Republicans Liz Kolstad sent Peter Halajian and his allies a cease and desist letter after both claimed victory over the party’s leadership earlier this month. (GV Wire)
— Westminster Councilmember Amy Phan West has been charged for bribing a city parking control officer to not tow her husband’s Jeep. In 2023, the Westminster PD responded to over 20 calls relating to “dirty, unregistered or abandoned vehicles in the area all associated with Phan West, her husband or their rental car business through Turo. (Orange County Register)
— San Francisco Chef Charles Phan, who opened the beloved Slanted Door, died at 62. (New York Times)
New Year. New Washington. New Playbook. With intensified congressional coverage and even faster delivery of policy scoops, POLITICO’s reimagined Playbook Newsletter ensures you’re always ahead of the conversation. Sign up today.
PLAYBOOKERS
PEOPLE MOVES — Former Assemblymember Jim Wood has joined the firm California Strategies as a partner. Wood will be based in the Sacramento office and will grow the firm’s presence in the North Coast region (his former district).
— Nate Rose is now vice president of communications and public affairs at the California Grocers Association. He was previously senior director of comms at the association.
— Brian Gross has joined the law firm Morrison Foerster as chief operating officer, based in its San Francisco office. He was previously with Boston Consulting Group.
BIRTHDAYS — Rep. Mike Thompson … Rep. John Garamendi … Rep. Lou Correa … filmmaker Abigail Disney …
WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.
CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com.
A message from Amazon:
People's Choice Jerky, based in Los Angeles, California, uses Fulfillment by Amazon to reach customers across the country. Partnering with Amazon gives the team time to "work on other products and invest in production," said Brian the CEO.
Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options.
