| | | |  | | By Dustin Gardiner and Blake Jones | | Presented by |  | | | | 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will have a new podcast. | Image courtesy of iHeartPodcasts | THE BUZZ: VOICEOVER — Democrats are in the wilderness as they try to break through the GOP’s dominance in Washington, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has a plan: Be more like Bill Maher and get outside the party’s ideological comfort zone. That’s the attitude Newsom said he hopes to capture as he launches his own podcast, a solo program by iHeartPodcasts titled “This is Gavin Newsom.” As our colleague Christopher Cadelago scoops today, Newsom’s podcast will feature interviews with prominent MAGA personalities, as well as the Democratic Party’s future and behind-the-scenes discussion about major decisions. The venture comes as the governor has pivoted in recent months toward a more bipartisan and reflective tone. He’s taken a more friendly posture toward President Donald Trump, particularly as he appeals to the president for federal aid in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires. And Newsom has sought to help Democrats do deeper soul searching about the party’s message on economic issues in the wake of a lopsided defeat in 2024. The governor has long been critical of Democrats’ reluctance to compete with Republicans' national messaging edge on culture war issues and discomfort engaging with critical media. “I think the biggest mistake we've made is staying in the warm embrace of our ideological lane,” Newsom told Chris. “And it didn't work out for us. We are sitting here on the sidelines right now trying to figure out how to get back in the game.” In that sense, Newsom said the creative inspiration for his podcast came from Maher, the provocative HBO “Real Time” host who leans Democratic but has increasingly taken flak from progressives in recent years over his eagerness to criticize the party’s “woke” left flank. Newsom said he appreciates Maher’s ability to banter with adversaries and question the Democratic Party’s conventional thinking. “I'm asking the same questions you’re asking of me: Where the hell is the Democratic Party?” Newsom said. “What are we doing? Who are we? Where are we going? What's the path back?” Newsom declined to say which Republicans he’s planning to have on the podcast, but said to “look at the lineup at CPAC.” The governor said he hopes his conversations with Trump-friendly personalities will offer a chance to interrogate their disagreements and break through to audiences Democrats have missed, especially in the right-wing-dominated podcast space. Newsom praised former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s mantra of “go everywhere, talk to everyone.” It will be Newsom’s second go-around hosting a podcast; he’s still appearing on the sports and culture show “Politickin’” alongside friends Marshawn Lynch, the former NFL star running back, and sports agent Doug Hendrickson. His latest podcast, however, is decidedly less barbershop gabfest and far more policy-focused and analytical. It’s a lane that arguably comes more natural to Newsom, a policy wonk who’s in his comfort zone spitting out economic stats and debating the likes of Fox News host Sean Hannity and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Newsom said he’s not just looking to joust with GOP personalities. He wants to call out the GOP’s moves that he finds most detestable — like slashing funding for Medicaid — at the same time he’s open to calling BS on his own party. Again, he’s taking notes from Maher: “I watch him because I appreciate how he calls balls and strikes — takes shots at both parties.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Wednesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at dgardiner@politico.com and bjones@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @jonesblakej. WHERE’S GAVIN? Newsom’s office said he will “unveil a major statewide economic initiative” during a fireside chat and news conference in Los Angeles at 11:30 a.m. The governor’s team said his plan will include new funding for wildfire recovery.
| | | | A message from Uber: Cost of CA Insurance Regulations. Californians are experiencing costly Uber rides thanks to state required insurance costs that make up nearly a third of total trip fares. Unlike other vehicles, including taxis, rideshare vehicles are required to have a $1 million uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage when there's a passenger in the car. That's one reason why an entire industry of billboard lawyers target rideshare with litigation abuse, driving insurance costs up even higher. Learn More. | | | |  | ON THE HILL | | | 
Democratic Rep. Dave Min. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP | NOT A DOGE PERSON — Rep. Dave Min spent much of his first congressional town hall Tuesday night railing against DOGE, calling it an “end run around the Constitution.” His team also polled attendees on whether Elon Musk “and unvetted DOGE employees should have access to your social security number and bank information” — gesturing toward lawsuits against Musk’s reported attempts to access sensitive info. Min, like other Democrats, has made attacking the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and Trump administration spending cuts a key tenant of his opposition during the early days of the president’s second term. The Orange County representative’s comments explicitly underscored the messaging pivot. “We had a plan when I came into office to try to keep pushing on the same issues that I pushed for when I was in the state Senate, and those are still important issues for me,” Min said, naming crime, domestic violence and climate change among other problems. “But right now, all of those have, of course, sunk way down in secondary importance to the 800 pound elephant in the room, which is the attempts by Trump and DOGE to usurp our constitutionally delegated powers to Congress.” Min has also proposed repealing the executive order that created DOGE with legislation dubbed the “BAD DOGE Act.” (Perhaps he should leave the DOGE puns to us.)
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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | MEDICAID WARRIOR — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had stinging words Tuesday for House Republicans who narrowly passed their proposal to cut spending on Medicaid and use the money to provide tax breaks and fund other GOP priorities like border security. “By voting for this cruel bill, you are betraying hard-working Americans,” Pelosi said during a floor speech ahead of the vote. “The president said he was going to reduce the cost of living. He didn’t. Reduce inflation? He didn’t.” The representative from San Francisco also chided Republicans who voted for a plan to reduce funding for food stamps. She said they had shown “glee” about “taking food out of the mouths of babies.” Pelosi’s message to her own party seems clear: She’s focusing, with laser precision, on healthcare and wealth inequality — and looking ahead to the midterm elections. CAMPAIGN FODDER — Frontline Republican Reps. David Valadao, Ken Calvert and Young Kim all voted for the spending framework, a decision opponents will likely use against them on the campaign trail in California next year. Only one Republican, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, voted no. The House must now reconcile massive differences between the Senate GOP’s spending blueprint and its own.
| | | | A message from Uber:  
| | | | | CAMPAIGN YEAR(S) | | VICTORY MARCH — The California GOP declared Tuesday night that Bakersfield businessman Stan Ellis had won outright a four-way race to succeed Rep. Vince Fong in the Assembly — avoiding a run-off election. Ellis was endorsed by Fong and won more than 60 percent of ballots that have been counted. Huntington Beach City Councilmember Tony Strickland is in a commanding lead in his race to succeed Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen in the state Senate. Vote tallies so far have the Republican hovering just above the 50 percent-plus-one margin he'd need to avoid a run-off against the next top vote-getter on April 29. He'd be heavily favored to win a general election, as the candidates on track to finish in second and third place are both Democrats in the conservative-leaning district. Should Strickland prevail as expected, he'll be eligible to run for one more state Senate term in 2026, when he'll have finished out the remainder of Nguyen's term. Strickland first served in the Legislature under an old, pre-2012 term limit system that still governs him today. It restricts him to three Assembly terms, which he already served from 1998-2004, and two Senate terms, one of which he completed from 2008-2012. But serving less than half of a term — as Strickland is likely about to do -- does not count toward the cap on years of service. He'll be able to stay in the state Senate until 2030 if he runs again and wins. Ellis, 72, has never held office but told Playbook earlier this year he'd like to serve in the Legislature "for a few years." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SEO IN — Democrat Paul Seo is expected to announce today that he’s running for the state Assembly in the 66th District (southwest Los Angeles County). Seo is mayor pro tem of Rancho Palos Verdes and a deputy state attorney general. He’s running for the seat held by Al Muratsuchi, who’s termed out and running for state superintendent of public instruction.
| | ON THE AGENDA | | RECALL RELAUNCH — Randy Economy, leader of the current Newsom recall attempt, plans to join Mel Gibson for a press conference on the effort in Altadena at 1:30 p.m. Economy told Playbook he was connected with Gibson on the second day of the fires that burned the actor's Malibu home, and that the two have been in constant contact ever since. The campaign has also been in preliminary talks with Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's former running mate Nicole Shanahan about ways that she might help support Newsom's ouster, Economy said. Shanahan, a Silicon Valley billionaire, has privately pursued efforts to recall Newsom but has seen Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as more vulnerable, we've previously reported. Economy's campaign has turned in enough signatures to formally start the process, he said, after inadvertently submitting too few earlier this year and starting over. The campaign needed 325 signatures and turned in over 400 this time around, he said.
| | | | Donald Trump's unprecedented effort to reshape the federal government is consuming Washington. To track this seismic shift, we're relaunching one of our signature newsletters. Sign up to get West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government in your inbox. | | | | | | | CLIMATE AND ENERGY | | MONEY PROBLEMS — The bond rating firm S&P downgraded Los Angeles’ public utility after the fires, meaning it will have to pay higher interest rates on any new bonds it issues to raise money for new projects. Now S&P is assessing the creditworthiness of all of California’s local governments because of the threat of wildfires. Read more about this financial monster under the bed in last night's California Climate.
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Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | IN A HUFF — Rep. Jared Huffman and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich are demanding answers about Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order to remove “the Biden administration’s burdensome regulations” on fossil fuels and natural resources. They say the department has not disclosed its plan to Congress, therefore evading congressional oversight, POLITICO’s E&E News reports. “As the ranking minority members on the committees of jurisdiction for these topics, we have a responsibility to conduct oversight on the department’s activities,” the pair wrote. BLOWING SMOKE — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ chief recovery officer, Steve Soboroff, vented to a group of Harvard-Westlake School alumni last week, saying he was “lied to” over his compensation, the Los Angeles Times reports. The city’s original plan was to pay him $500,000 over 90 days, but after public outcry over the amount, he decided to work without pay. “And so there was one of two things to do: Go public and quit, and say I was lied to — here’s my emails, here’s my texts, here’s all this s---,” he told the group. “Or tell them I’ll do it for free, and hope that it comes around later on.” Soboroff later told LAT that he didn’t mean Bass had intentionally misled him. INSURANCE CZAR — Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, said he has requested a meeting with State Farm CEO Michael Tipsord to discuss the fires in Southern California. “We have much to discuss,” Grenell posted on X.
| | AROUND THE STATE | | — Three former Biden administration officials said that Border Patrol Chief Agent Gregory Bovino “went rogue” during the January raids in Kern County, noting that no higher-ups knew about the operation. (Los Angeles Times) — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie will order city workers to return to the office at least four days a week, according to a memo. (San Francisco Standard) — Lurie reportedly told members of the Board of Supervisors and local activists that he wanted to oust Police Commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone, in part, because he was rude to his staff. (Mission Local) — Fresno has filed a lawsuit to evict Terance Frazier’s youth sports nonprofit, the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation, from its Granite Park sports complex, saying the group owes more than $700,000 in rent. Frazier is the husband of Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria. (GV Wire) — compiled by Nicole Norman
| | | | A message from Uber: Cost of CA Insurance Regulations.
Californians are finding themselves paying some of the highest Uber fares in the nation, thanks to California's out of control state insurance requirements. Unlike taxis and personal vehicles, rideshare operators here must carry $1 million in uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage when there's a passenger in the car. Unfortunately, these rules have created a feeding frenzy for billboard lawyers. Litigation abuse claims have caused insurance premiums to rise even higher, fueling fare hikes that hurt everyday riders and increasing the cost of everything.
Learn More. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | PEOPLE MOVES — Shay Franco-Clausen will join the California Teachers Association this week as the political organizer for Region 4. She’s leaving her post as political director for Equality California. — Zaire Bailey has transitioned into the role of PAC director at Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. Zaire most recently served as its director of strategic partnerships and special projects. BIRTHDAYS — Li Zhou … Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine … BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Tuesday): Guy Lipa ... Lyla Holdstein 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 Lynn Fine to find out how: lfine@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
