Texas Senator Ted Cruz dismantled California’s leftist Governor Gavin Newsom in a blistering history lesson after Newsom attempted to frame the presence of federalized National Guard troops in his state as some unprecedented act of tyranny.
Newsom — apparently recalling President Trump invoking 10 U.S.C. § 12406 in June 2025 to federalize approximately 4,000 members of the California National Guard over  Newsom&#8217;s explicit objections — desperately attempted to stir up a narrative of &#8220;secret police&#8221; and &#8220;masked men,&#8221; comparing the federal response to Nazi Germany. “I want to remember all those images of masked men, the secret police, something familiar in Germany,” Newsom bloviated.
“Those first images came out of my state. The second-largest city in the United States of America. We saw 4,000 National Guard federalized. First time. We&#8217;ve never seen anything like this. And 700 active duty Marines sent — not overseas, but to the second largest city in the United States of America. Militarizing the streets of my city.  Masked men. Masked men showing up. Unaccountable.”
The problem for Newsom? History actually happened.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmhKfG5jBnA">Responding</a> on his &#8220;Verdict&#8221; podcast, Senator Ted Cruz scorched Newsom’s grasp of the American timeline. “Just like AOC and Whitmer, Newsom is apparently thoroughly historically illiterate,” Cruz stated. “He said we’ve never seen National Guards federalized in the states. I guess his history book does not discuss the civil rights movement; he’s never heard of a president named Dwight D. Eisenhower; he’s never heard of sending the National Guard into Southern states. When Democrats, who refused to desegregate schools, resisted, Eisenhower sent the National Guard in. The pattern is the same; in this instance, you have Democrats who are saying, ‘We refuse to comply with federal immigration law.’ Then you had, in the 50s and 60s, you had Democrats saying, ‘We refuse to comply with civil rights law.’ In both instances, it is lawless Democrats attacking law enforcement. Gavin Newsom is proudly following the tradition of Bull Connor, another Democrat politician.”
When Cruz took to X to reiterate that Newsom is “historically illiterate,” the California Governor — rather than defending his grasp of history — opted for the politics of grievance. Newsom, who has been open about his lifelong struggle with dyslexia, attempted to cast Cruz’s critique as a personal attack on his learning disability. “Ted Cruz calling a dyslexic person illiterate is a new low, even for him,” Newsom whimpered.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ted Cruz calling a dyslexic person illiterate is a new low, even for him. <a href="https://t.co/XC75ybiGKd">https://t.co/XC75ybiGKd</a>
&mdash; Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/2023502733513552233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Cruz was having none of it. Firing back on X, the Texas Senator clarified for the Governor that &#8220;historically illiterate&#8221; refers to a lack of knowledge, not a lack of phonics. “I didn’t say you couldn’t read, you 🤡,” Cruz retorted.
He then dropped the hammer with specific receipts: Executive Order 10730. Cruz detailed how Eisenhower used the 101st Airborne Division to break the blockade imposed by Democratic Governor Orval Faubus, allowing the Little Rock Nine to enter Central High School.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I didn’t say you couldn’t read, you 🤡
I said you were “historically illiterate”…
….because you apparently have no idea that Eisenhower federalized the national guard to stop Dem governors from defying federal law.
Specifically, on September 23, 1957, President Eisenhower… <a href="https://t.co/63z3botBKs">https://t.co/63z3botBKs</a>
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/2023603867254997407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Newsom’s schooling appears to have elided the chapters on how his own party has spent decades standing on the wrong side of federal law and basic historical fact.

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‘Historically Illiterate’: Cruz Scorches Newsom After CA Governor Compares Federal Troops To Nazis

HISTORICAL AMNESIA: Cruz Scorches Newsom After CA Governor Compares Federal Troops To Nazi Germany

California

Donald Trump

Gavin Newsom

National Guard

Ted Cruz

In a move that surprises absolutely no one familiar with his performative antics, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom took to social media this week to take a victory lap for a race he arguably lost.
The battleground was a federal courtroom in Los Angeles, where Senior U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder — a Clinton appointee, no less — delivered a split decision on Monday regarding California’s blatant attempt to hamstring federal immigration enforcement. At the heart of the conflict were two pieces of legislation: the &#8220;No Secret Police Act,&#8221; which sought to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, and the &#8220;No Vigilantes Act,&#8221; which mandates visible identification.
Newsom, ever the master of the &#8220;alternative win,&#8221; crowed on X, “A federal court just upheld California’s law REQUIRING federal agents to identify themselves. California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A federal court just upheld California’s law REQUIRING federal agents to identify themselves.
California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) <a href="https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/2021024933342748713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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But as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon was quick to point out, the governor’s celebratory rhetoric was little more than a thin veil for a legal drubbing. Dhillon, cutting through the ego of the California governor, summarized the reality of the situation with brutal efficiency: &#8220;California made frivolous arguments and LOST in court.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TL/DR: California made frivolous arguments and LOST in court. <a href="https://t.co/cLtZbWEtid">https://t.co/cLtZbWEtid</a>
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) <a href="https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2021276930662679035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The most aggressive component of California’s anti-ICE agenda, the mask ban, was unceremoniously blocked. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice argued that stripping federal agents of their masks wasn&#8217;t about &#8220;transparency,&#8221; but about exposing federal officers to harassment, doxing, and physical violence.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the injunction, writing, “ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding @TheJusticeDept  attorneys. Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities.  These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs. We have no tolerance for it.  We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda — and we will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheJusticeDept</a> attorneys.
Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities.
These federal agents are…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2020987402882515174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Judge Snyder’s ruling hinged on the fact that California’s law was a textbook case of federal discrimination. The state attempted to force federal agents to show their faces while conveniently exempting its own state law enforcement officers from the same standard. This violation of the Supremacy Clause meant the &#8220;No Secret Police Act&#8221; died on the vine because the state tried to play by a different set of rules than the ones it demanded for the feds.
Professor of Law Jonathan Turley noted, “As some of us previously noted, the California law requiring ICE agents to remove their masks has been found unconstitutional. Still, in my view, the discrimination rationale of Judge Christina Snyder (a Clinton appointee) is too narrow. Snyder left in place other provisions that the Administration could challenge. Moreover, the problem is not just that the state exempted its own officers, but that the state was dictating operational elements in federal law enforcement.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As some of us previously noted, the California law requiring ICE agents to remove their masks has been found unconstitutional. <a href="https://t.co/tsPbncIybW">https://t.co/tsPbncIybW</a> Still, in my view, the discrimination rationale of Judge Christina Snyder (a Clinton appointee) is too narrow&#8230;
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonathanTurley/status/2021030467357769958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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While Newsom tries to spin the leftover &#8220;ID badge&#8221; requirement as a monumental triumph, the reality remains: the federal government successfully stopped California from dictating the operational safety of federal agents. Newsom can brag all he wants, but as Dhillon and Bondi made clear, the law-and-order agenda just secured a major foothold in the Ninth Circuit’s backyard.

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Dhillon Shreds Newsom After Court Blocks California’s ‘No Secret Police Act’

Harmeet Dhillon

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

A federal judge ruled Monday that California can&#8217;t enforce a law banning federal immigration agents from wearing masks.
Judge Christina A. Snyder from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that California&#8217;s &#8220;No Secret Police Act&#8221; both discriminates against the federal government for solely applying to federal law enforcement and violates its power granted by the Constitution&#8217;s Supremacy Clause.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law in September to ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing masks while making arrests, forcing them to show their faces. The Department of Homeland Security quickly jumped to condemn the law, calling it “a flagrant attempt to endanger” federal officers.
ICE agents currently face a more than 1,000% increase in assaults, a surge in doxxing efforts, and a roughly 8,000% jump in death threats, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Left-wing activist groups have set up online databases to reveal photos of federal agents and publicize their names and locations.
In cities like Minneapolis, ICE Watch groups follow federal immigration agents to nearly every arrest site, snapping pictures of them and their license plates to alert the public to their whereabouts.
After the California law passed, United States Attorney Bill Essayli said California “does not and cannot have jurisdiction” over the federal agents.
Over the summer, Los Angeles became the center of aggressive immigration raids that drew violent rioters that blocked major highways, set cars ablaze, and hurled concrete blocks at law enforcement.
President Donald Trump responded to the mobs by sending in 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to quell the melee.
In an attempt to change the judge&#8217;s mind, Democratic Senator Scott Weiner announced that he would swiftly file a bill to include California Highway Patrol in the mask ban.
In her ruling, the judge did scrutinize the Trump administration, saying that “federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks.”
In a <a href="https://x.com/ZavalaA/status/2020994355868336591" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, Weiner called Snyder&#8217;s ruling &#8220;a huge win,&#8221; adding that for the law &#8220;to be enforceable it must apply to all levels of police — not just federal and local officers but also state officers.&#8221;
&#8220;Now that the Court has made clear that state officers must be included, I am immediately introducing new legislation to include state officers. I will do everything in my power to expedite passage of this adjustment to the No Secret Police Act.&#8221;

California Governor Gavin Newsom Interview

Federal Judge Rules California Can’t Stop ICE Agents From Wearing Masks

Courts

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) trolled Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) over the high-speed rail project that has been steadily rising in cost despite showing little progress over the course of nearly two decades.
Newsom jabbed at the TSA first, boasting in a press conference that nearly 11 years after the project&#8217;s 2015 ground-breaking, 463 miles of the planned route were finally ready for construction to begin — and saying that eventually, passengers on his high-speed rail would not have to suffer the indignity of removing their shoes to travel.
&#8220;While Texas canceled its project, California keeps building,&#8221; Newsom&#8217;s Press Office posted, neglecting to mention the fact that while Texas had canceled due to skyrocketing costs, California had simply opted to pass the added cost on to investors and depend on government grants. &#8220;463 miles are now ready for construction. We’re past the hardest part, and we’re finishing the job.&#8221;
&#8220;High-speed rail means no TSA lines, no removing your shoes — just fast, clean travel,&#8221; the post read.
The TSA pointed out that airline passengers had not been required to remove their shoes while passing through airport security since July of 2025 — and noted that while getting 463 miles of planned route ready for construction was certainly an accomplishment, the trains were not yet ready to leave the station.
&#8220;Congratulations Gov. Newsom! 463 miles &#8216;ready for construction,&#8217; maybe someday it will join the 20,000+ miles of passenger rail we already secure,&#8221; the TSA&#8217;s post read. &#8220;Meanwhile, Americans, who don&#8217;t fly private jets, have kept their shoes on at TSA checkpoints since July. Enjoy your next flight!&#8221;
The California high-speed rail project, touted by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and originally approved in 2008, has long been viewed as a boondoggle of astronomical proportions. The initial budget was estimated at $33 billion, and was supposed to be completed by 2020. Initial passenger service was scheduled to begin in 2022.
Instead, over the course of 18 years, the price tag has ballooned to more than $135 billion and the ground along the proposed route is only just now &#8220;ready&#8221; for construction to begin. Passenger service has been delayed until sometime between 2030 and 2033.
In July of 2017, President Donald Trump announced that his administration was terminating some $4 billion in federal funding for the project: &#8220;To the law-abiding, tax-paying, hardworking citizens of the United States of America, I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California’s disastrously overpriced, ‘HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE.'&#8221;

TSA Trolls Gavin Newsom Over California’s High Speed Rail Money Pit

Air Travel

High Speed rail

Train

Transportation

Vogue&#8217;s Spring 2026 issue delivered a fawning puff piece extolling the virtues of Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) — complete with a photo spread from celebrity-favorite photographer Annie Leibovitz — just as he prepares to wrap up his final term as governor and plan his next move.
Newsom has long been considered a heavy favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 — and if he does choose to throw his hat into the ring, his February 1 Vogue profile (written by Maya Singer) could easily be considered an in-kind donation to his campaign.
Indeed, Singer refers to Newsom as &#8220;presidential&#8221; in her first paragraph. Of course, that came only after she describes him as &#8220;embarrassingly handsome.&#8221;
<blockquote>Let’s get this out of the way: He is embarrassingly handsome, his hair seasoned with silver, at ease with his own eminence as he delivers his final State of the State address.</blockquote>
And the fawning continues. Paragraph two begins: &#8220;It must drive Trump nuts. Newsom: lithe, ardent, energetic, a glimmer of optimism in his eye; Kennedy-esque. Add to that his stunning wife and four adorable kids, and the executive strut of a self-made millionaire who has spent the past seven years at the helm of a state big, complex, and rich enough to be a nation of its own.&#8221;
Singer continued in that same vein, observing the differences between her previous Zoom meetings with the California politician and the moment she sat down with him in person.
<blockquote>As he spoke, late-summer sun slanted in through the windows, bathing Newsom in an oh so California magic-hour glow. I’d prepared for this sit-down by consuming the spectacle of Gavin Newsom—tweets, TV hits, interviews, umpteen episodes of his podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom—and was having a hard time taking in the man. His actual molecular reality. Immaculate. Fantastic at gab, like a windup doll.</blockquote>
Her words painted a picture — not just of Newsom, but also of a writer smitten by the subject of her piece.
“Newsom’s lanky frame was folded onto a sofa a bit too low-slung for him. This made him lean back—away from me,” Singer wrote, musing, “Or it could be that his body language had nothing to do with ergonomics and is a function of Newsom’s quality of being at once gregarious and aloof.”
Singer spoke with Newsom about his decision to start a podcast — “This is Gavin Newsom” — and to kick it off with a conversation with the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
“My purpose in having Charlie on wasn’t to discuss his politics. I don’t share his politics. I don’t like the way he talked down to people. I don’t like what he said about the gay community and minorities,” Newsom said, claiming that his purpose had been centered on finding out what Kirk was doing to reach so many people — young men, in particular.
“Wake up. There’s 40 percent or whatever it is in this country that feels deeply differently than we do, and we need to understand this movement and not be so quick to dismiss it. Divorce is not an option. So what are we going to do about this?” Newsom continued. “We’ve got a lot of work to do—rebranding, rebuilding, a lot of work as a party. Wake the hell up.”
Pushing back on critics who’d attacked him for allowing Kirk a platform, Newsom argued that it was Kirk who had platformed him: “I didn’t have one follower. He had millions.”
The governor’s strategy appears to have worked on at least one person: Singer.
“Newsom,” she wrote, “has been vindicated by history.”
Critics were quick to call out the clear bias in Singer’s writing.
Kevin Dalton wrote on X, “‘Let’s get this out of the way: He is embarrassingly handsome, his hair seasoned with silver, at ease with his own eminence as he delivers his final State of the State address.’ —Vogue, apparently taken over by a 15-year-old girl with a crush on Gavin Newsom or Izzy.”
Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer called the whole thing, “Very Beto.”
“The Gavin Newsom piece in Vogue is something to behold. A true monument to sycophancy, obsequiousness and outright slobbery,” Gerry Callahan said, adding, “The writer, Maya Singer, abandons all professional dignity and acts less like a reporter and more like a golden retriever whose owner just returned from a long trip.”

Governor Newsom And San Francisco Mayor Lurie Announce New Funding For Homelessness And Mental Health Ffforts In The City

Vogue Puff Piece On Gavin Newsom Delivers Overdose Of Cringe

2028 presidential election

Media

Media Bias

Politics

Vogue Magazine

Sports analyst Stephen A. Smith, whose blunt declarative side has manifested in criticism of political figures, blasted California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom for criticizing President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland.
Newsom sharply criticized Trump, dismissing Trump’s address as “boring,” “insignificant,” and largely empty rhetoric, particularly on Greenland. He argued the United States was operating under the “rule of Don” rather than the rule of law, claiming democratic norms had eroded. Newsom urged global leaders to stop being “complicit,” mocking their deference as “pathetic.” He also attacked Trump’s tariffs as harmful, criticized weakened institutional pushback, and positioned California as a counterweight on climate and clean energy policy.
“Gavin Newsom, respectfully, what are you doing?” Smith asked rhetorically. “You’re the governor of the state of California in the United States of America. Why are you over in Davos, Switzerland, talking to folks and speaking negatively about the president of the United States?”
“I have no problem with Gavin Newsom being candid and open about his feelings about our president on United States soil,” he continued. “To go over to another country, Switzerland; to go over there and to be in the presence of other European leaders speaking against the president of the United States, I’m not down with that. Y’all might be; I’m not down with that — at all.”
“Say whatever you want here, as a governor from the opposite of the aisle of a state in the United States on American soil, fine,” he declared. “But I’m one of those people, when we go somewhere else, it’s America first. Our problems are our problems. But we ain’t taking dirty laundry outside. &#8230; You don’t go on a world stage to disrespect your own house, which is the United States of America. I don’t like that at all, not even a little bit.”
“Now, I know that sounds juvenile,” he said. “I get that. Very simplistic in the eyes of a lot of people, but some things are worthy of being simple. I understand you trolling Trump. I understand that you&#8217;re aiming to run for the presidency in 2028. But we got problems here in the United States. And don&#8217;t tell me they don&#8217;t exist in California. But specifically when it pertains to sanctuary city, sanctuary state, border issues, safety in the streets, and I&#8217;ll be damned if affordability ain&#8217;t at the top of the list in the state of California. It&#8217;s expensive as hell. And a lot of it has happened on Gavin Newsom&#8217;s watch.”
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Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith Unloads On Newsom: Don’t Trash America On A World Stage

Davos

World Economic Forum

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom was denied entry into the official headquarters for the U.S. delegation in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, his press office said on Wednesday.
The governor, a nemesis of President Donald Trump, was scheduled to speak to the media outlet Fortune for an event sponsored by the USA House in Davos, but wasn&#8217;t allowed inside the venue, POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/newsom-administration-alleges-state-department-pressure-in-davos-cancellation-00738966">reported</a>. USA House, which is set up in a 19th-century church, has been recognized by the United States as the official headquarters for U.S. delegates in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum.
&#8220;Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom to speak with media after Fortune — the official media partner — invited him to speak,&#8221; Newsom&#8217;s press office <a href="https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/2014023173033910527?s=20">wrote</a> on X.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Wire, &#8220;No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California.”
Newsom has been in Davos during the World Economic Forum this week, where he has spoken to the media and bashed President Trump. Trump mentioned Newsom during his World Economic Forum speech as the governor looked on. The president was touting his record on cracking down on crime when he <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2013986705196372460">added</a>, &#8220;We will help the people of California &#8230; I know Gavin was here. I used to get along so great with Gavin when I was president. Gavin&#8217;s a good guy, and if he needed it, I would do it in a heartbeat. We did help them a lot in Los Angeles early in my term when they had some problems.&#8221;
After Trump delivered a speech to world leaders on Wednesday, Newsom called the speech &#8220;remarkably boring&#8221; and &#8220;remarkably insignificant.&#8221; On Tuesday, the California governor ripped world leaders for what he viewed as actions appeasing Trump.
&#8220;It&#8217;s time to stand tall and firm,&#8221; Newsom said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve seen this in the United States. The supine Congress playing both sides. &#8230; It&#8217;s time to have principle. It&#8217;s time to stand tall and strong.&#8221;
“I can&#8217;t take this complicity — people rolling over,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. Nobel Prizes that are being given away. I mean, it’s just pathetic and I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage, I mean, at least from an American perspective. It’s embarrassing.”
Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, have spoken to audiences gathered at the USA House in the Swiss Alps town this week. Earlier on Wednesday, Bessent <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/newsom-administration-alleges-state-department-pressure-in-davos-cancellation-00738966">ripped</a> Newsom while speaking at an event, saying, “I was told he was asked to give a speech on his signature policies, but he’s not speaking because what have his economic policies brought? Outward migration from California, a gigantic budget deficit, the largest homeless population in America.”

Left In The Cold: Newsom Says He Was Denied Entry To U.S. Delegation HQ In Davos

Trump Administration

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ended his campaign for re-election, a stunning reversal and likely the end of the political career of a man who many pundits projected would be the Democratic nominee for president as early as 2028.
But if a once-popular governor can be toppled by widespread welfare fraud, where does that leave other Democratic presidential hopefuls?
The revelations of staggering levels of fraud in Minnesota — and Walz’s preemptive exit from the big stage — should send a chill down the spines of Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, and JB Pritzker, who are likely sitting on powder kegs of fraud themselves. What are the odds that Tim Walz is an outlier among blue-state governors with the exact same political philosophy and ideology? Unlikely.
Federal prosecutors allege more than <a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/12/18/u-s-attorney-fraud-likely-exceeds-9-billion-in-minnesota-run-medicaid-services/">$9 billion</a> in Minnesota Medicaid dollars were stolen by scammers primarily from the state’s Somali community, an enormous sum, equivalent to roughly three-quarters of <a href="https://nbs.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Somalia-GDP-2024-release-text-v3-2025.pdf">Somalia’s GDP</a>. Investigations are ongoing, and the real total loss may be even higher.
Welfare programs are an enormous money pot that inevitably attracts scammers. And the bigger the pot, the bigger the potential payoff for thieves. With state budgets the size of those in California, Illinois, and New York, not to mention Democrats’ general posture toward welfare expansion, it would be truly shocking if there were less fraud in those larger states.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requested data from the states on who is receiving food stamps early last year, including identifying information like Social Security numbers and, importantly, immigration status. The Trump administration has previously discovered that more than one million people were illegally receiving <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/cms-doge-identify-wasteful-duplicate-medicaid-enrollments.html">Medicaid in multiple states</a> — and it’s likely the same with food stamps and SNAP benefits. Individual states are not able to detect this kind of fraud: only the federal government can find it by comparing recipients across the states.
But Democrats have refused to help the Trump administration find fraud. In fact, <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-sues-trump-administration-over-illegal-demands-states">in July</a>, 22 blue states sued to block the Trump administration from requiring the data. Democrats want the federal government to pay for food stamps without knowing who is receiving them.
Tim Walz and the other 21 governors have all seen the information they are currently hiding from the feds. In the absence of transparency from these elected officials, federal investigators, journalists, and citizens of goodwill all need to keep digging until the American people get the truth and law enforcement can bring fraudsters to justice.
Food stamp fraud is a known fact. According to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), more than <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107753.pdf">$10 billion</a> in the food stamp program is wasted every year — <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/key-statistics-and-research">more than 10%</a> of the program. Some blue states have even higher error rates: Massachusetts and D.C. overpay by an average of more than <a href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/snap-fy24QC-PER.pdf">13%</a> — and New York and New Jersey aren’t far behind at more than 12%. That means that one out of every eight dollars in these states is wasted — and this is just the waste, fraud, and abuse that we know about.
Nearly <a href="https://thefga.org/research/categorical-eligibility-in-food-stamps-is-fraud-by-design/">every Democrat-run state</a> in America also uses an accounting gimmick called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, or BBCE, to hide its own erroneous payments from the federal government. BBCE means that if someone receives a non-monetary TANF benefit, like a brochure or the number to a welfare agency hotline, the state assumes that they qualify for food stamps, too, without bothering to check their assets to see if they are actually eligible. The result is an explosion in the welfare state, costing taxpayers more than <a href="https://thefga.org/solution/promoting-work-over-welfare/bbce/">$11 billion per year</a>, with the benefits going to people with liquid assets well above the limits set in federal law.
The good news is that, thanks to a new law signed by President Trump, states with high error rates can no longer waste federal tax dollars with impunity. States with food stamp payment error rates over <a href="https://www.sas.com/en_us/news/press-releases/2025/november/payment-integrity-food-assistance.html">six percent</a> are now legally required to start paying back a small part of the cost of the program. Left-wing Massachusetts could owe more than <a href="https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/understaffed-dta-faces-steep-snap-penalty-risks/">$250 million per year</a>. Deep-blue Maryland may be on the hook for more than <a href="https://marylandmatters.org/2025/12/03/maryland-may-face-more-than-300-million-in-new-snap-costs-due-to-high-payment-error/">$300 million</a>. This is a great first step, and not only will it help repay federal taxpayers, but it will also encourage states to finally get their act together and stop wasting money.
As the old story goes, criminals rob banks “because that’s where the money is.” And there are no bigger pots of money than the federal treasury and the bloated budgets of blue states. Attorney General Bondi and investigators across the country are beginning to look at where the real money is — and the fallout could bring down the entire top-tier slate of 2028 Democratic presidential nominees.
* * *
Adam Gibbs is the communications director for the Foundation for Government Accountability.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Opening Day Of World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026

Welfare Fraud Threatens Top-Tier Democratic Presidential Nominees Ahead Of 2028

Welfare Fraud Threatens Top-Tier Democratic Presidential Nominees Ahead of 2028

Democrats

Elections

Fraud

J.B. Pritzker

Josh Shapiro

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Somalis

Tim Walz

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired back at California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom after Newsom mocked him for being “smug.”
In a Fox Business interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bessent was discussing the Trump administration’s plan to limit or ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes to ease supply shortages and keep housing more affordable for individual buyers.
The administration has floated measures to restrict big institutional investors (such as private equity firms and large corporate landlords) from purchasing single-family homes, since these entities have been accused of buying up large numbers of houses and reducing supply for regular buyers.
Bessent was explaining that any guidance on this policy would need to distinguish between true small “mom and pop” investors and large investors.
He used an example of a hypothetical small investor, saying, “We’re going to give guidance, at some point, to see, what is a mom and pop. Someone, maybe your parents for their retirement have bought 5, 10, 12 homes. So we don’t want to push the moms and pops out; we just want to push everyone else out,” meaning larger, institutional buyers.
Newsom mocked Bessent, writing on X, “Could this smug man be more out of touch?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Could this smug man be more out of touch? <a href="https://t.co/GUqqi5KoNB">https://t.co/GUqqi5KoNB</a>
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/2013744283136991407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Bessent fired back:
<blockquote>
Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris. He&#8217;s here this week with his billionaire sugar daddy, Alex Soros, and Davos is a perfect place for a man who, when everyone else is on lockdown, when he was having people arrested for going to church. &#8230; Shame on him. He is too smug, too self-absorbed, and too economically illiterate to know anything. &#8230; Let me know if you need any further clarification.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the Treasury Secretary smug. Today in Davos the Treasury Secretary responded.. and I have to quote this: &#8220;Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics…
— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdwardLawrence/status/2013916326801068099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Newsom never lived a middle-class financial life as an adult; his career wasenabled by elite patronage, not grassroots entrepreneurship, as his father, William Newsom, a judge and political insider, was close friends with Gordon Getty, heir to the Getty oil fortune. Getty bankrolled Newsom’s first major business ventures, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup capital.
Earlier this month, AP <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-budget-gavin-newsom-last-year-deficits-6811fe4519bac5145f4002959690a280">pointed out</a>, “California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the state faces a $2.9 billion budget deficit this year &#8230; It’s the fourth year in a row that the nation’s most populous state faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. This year’s shortfall comes despite growing revenues fueled by stock market gains and investments in artificial intelligence.”
Bessent came from a working family; his father was a real estate developer who experienced financial ups and downs. Bessent later earned a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1984, then moved into finance.

MixCollage-21-Jan-2026-08-46-AM-5567

Bessent Fires Back At Newsom After ‘Smug’ Jab

Scott Bessent

Treasury Department

I don’t think Republicans will waltz to victory in 2028.
I don&#8217;t think Democrats will waltz to victory in 2028.
It&#8217;s going to be a dogfight.
And problems exist inside both parties.
The Republican Party is divided on some major issues, ranging from the involvement of the state and economics to foreign policy. The record of whoever is the Republican nominee will also come up for scrutiny.
I&#8217;ve discussed the problems facing the Democratic Party before, which are pretty obvious: There&#8217;s a big divide between the radical base and the moderation they&#8217;re going to need to win.
Gavin Newsom may well be their presidential candidate. He wants to campaign as the guy who cooperates with ICE, as the guy who wants to be at least moderate during the transition. Newsom also wants to be fairly moderate on foreign policy, and doesn&#8217;t want to engage in a lot of the same sort of rhetorical radicalism of his own party.
Will the base allow him to do that? I don’t think so. He&#8217;s been able to hide it so far by attacking Trump. I&#8217;m not sure how long that will last. So that&#8217;s one problem for him. And of course, the other problem is his record in California. There will be a lot of Willie Horton-type ads that come out against Newsom as he runs for the presidency.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2348?contentProgram=The%20Ben%20Shapiro%20Show&amp;contentType=ShowEpisode&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
The problem for the Republicans is that Gavin Newsom is a very talented guy. I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s any doubt when you <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2348?contentProgram=The%20Ben%20Shapiro%20Show&amp;contentType=ShowEpisode&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel">watch my interview with him</a>. He is good on his feet, and slippery when he needs to be. He also does a convincing imitation of a pro-capitalist moderate. If you think that&#8217;s an imitation, maybe that&#8217;s the real Gavin Newsom, and he has had to slather it over with radicalism to get where he wants to go.
Here&#8217;s what I would urge for both parties: Perhaps you ought to take a look at what the American people want. Look at the closeness of every American election for the last 12 years and think to yourself: &#8220;Maybe if I tacked toward the middle, maybe what Americans really want is normalcy.”
It’s possible the primary structure prevents normalcy from taking the floor. But as we&#8217;re seeing from the polling data, more and more Americans are identifying as independent. And the reason for this is because all they want is a return to normalcy.
I think the reason President Trump won in 2024 is that he was by far the most normie candidate – by far.
Joe Biden was not a normie candidate. He was dead on his feet and a radical. Kamala Harris was not a normie candidate. She was an empty suit and a radical.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump took the middle position on nearly every issue. Will Republicans do the same, or will they be so high on their own supply that they go rhetorically radical over and over and over for no apparent reason?
Pursuing mainstream policy is going to be the big battle of 2028.

2028: A Dogfight For The Middle

Ben Shapiro

Democratic Party

Opinion

Just months after California was rocked by violent anti-ICE riots, California Governor Gavin Newsom claims that his state “cooperates” with federal immigration authorities.
Newsom made the statement during an interview with The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ben Shapiro, who pressed him on California’s sanctuary state status and his history of anti-ICE rhetoric. Most recently, Newsom’s press office <a href="https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/2009067671124627833">suggested</a> that the shooting of a woman driving her car toward an ICE agent in Minneapolis was “state-sponsored terrorism.”
“We work very directly with ICE as it relates to [California prisons]. California has cooperated with more ICE transfers than probably any other state in the country. And I’ve vetoed multiple pieces of legislation that have come from my legislature to stop the ability for the state of California to do that,” Newsom said.
“ So when it comes to the issues of violent criminals, when it comes to felons, people that are being released from the largest state system in the United States of America, California cooperates with ICE,” he added.
While Newsom told Shapiro that California prisons had handed over 10,000 illegal alien felons to ICE, the data during his tenure as governor tell a different story.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GavinNewsom</a> REFUSES to tell <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> if he thinks boys can become girls:
Shapiro: &#8220;The fundamental question&#8230;is the question that you&#8217;re not wanting to answer, which is whether boys can become girls.&#8221;
Newsom: &#8220;Yeah…I think…I&#8217;m for the grace of God…Yeah.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Lse5fNw3SY">pic.twitter.com/Lse5fNw3SY</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2011954165728047375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://cis.org/Vaughan/Which-Sanctuary-Jurisdictions-Have-Released-Most-Criminals">According</a> to the Center for Immigration Studies, from October 1, 2022, to February 6, 2025, 52% of all ICE detainers — requests for local law enforcement to hold illegals arrested for crimes — were in California. The total number was over 13,000, well over the next highest total of 2,946 (Illinois).
Newsom also talked tough on handing over violent offenders, but during that same time, law enforcement in his state released at least 29 illegals facing homicide charges or convictions. Additionally, local law enforcement have pointed to state sanctuary city policies for hamstringing their ability to reach out to ICE when they arrest illegal aliens for crimes.
During his interview with Shapiro, Newsom admitted that it was a “fair” criticism to knock his press office for accusing ICE of committing terrorism and criticized calls from fellow Democrats to completely abolish the agency.
Newsom’s admission came after Shapiro told him his office accusing ICE of terrorism “makes our politics worse” and “our ICE officers are obviously not terrorists.”
After the Minneapolis shooting, Newsom claimed that ICE was acting as President Donald Trump’s “personal police force” and had “rampaged” America.
“His administration has driven extremism and cruelty while discarding basic safeguards and accountability,” Newsom <a href="https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/2009049140689313876">claimed</a>. “His reckless crackdown must end.”
In September, Newsom signed legislation aimed at barring ICE officers from wearing masks while they conduct operations. The bill came as ICE officers have faced a surge in harassment, assaults, and violent threats.
That law came after Los Angeles was rocked by violent riots as law enforcement officers were attacked and vehicles were burned after ICE started conducting operations in the area. The riots prompted President Trump to send in the National Guard to protect federal operations.
Newsom <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/06/07/100856/">claimed</a> that the move was “purposefully inflammatory” and would “erode public trust.” Those riots ended up costing more than $30 million, including more than $1.4 million in property damage.

MixCollage-15-Jan-2026-03-32-PM-9857

Months After Violent Riots, Gavin Newsom Tells Ben Shapiro That ‘California Cooperates With ICE’

Illegal Immigration

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration is probing the California Community College Athletic Association over allegations that its transgender policy violates Title IX, The Daily Wire can first report.
The Title IX Special Investigations Team, a joint project of the Department of Education and the Department of Justice, has initiated an investigation into the association over its policy stating that “a trans[gender] female&#8230;or non-binary student-athlete who has completed at least one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment&#8230;may compete on a women’s team.”
That policy caused at least three female athletes to be discriminated against on the basis of sex, according to a complaint submitted to the Office of Civil Rights, since a male athlete was allowed to participate on the women&#8217;s volleyball team and use the women&#8217;s locker rooms at one of the member colleges during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
“The fact that a Community College Athletic Association has a ‘Transgender Participation Policy’ is a stunning indictment of our culture,&#8221; said Kimberly Richey, the assistant secretary for civil rights. &#8220;Women’s sports are for women. Yet California’s Governor Gavin Newsom — despite admitting the truth on a podcast — continues to put ideology above the safety of and fairness for his own students.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1028413" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-probes-california-association-for-violating-trans-policy/us-justice-sports-transgender-lgbtq-discrimination" rel="attachment wp-att-1028413"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1028413" class="wp-image-1028413 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255538637-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255538637-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255538637-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255538637-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255538637.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks outside the US Supreme Court on January 13, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
The complaint also alleges that the California Community College Athletic Association ignored female students&#8217; when they raised concerns about the impact that male students have on female sports.
DOJ and the Education Department say that the association has an obligation to uphold Title IX&#8217;s sex-based protections, given that it receives federal financial assistance in California.
&#8220;The Trump Administration will not tolerate policies that erase women’s rights,”says Richey. “The Title IX SIT looks forward to investigating this matter to ensure every woman has equal access to educational programs and athletic opportunities—because fairness and safety are non-negotiable.”
DOJ and the Education Department created the Title IX Special Investigations Team in April 2025 in order to expedite enforcement of its investigations into incidents like this. In fact, the team&#8217;s first investigation was actually into the California Department of Education.
Richey&#8217;s comments about Newsom referenced the California governor&#8217;s remarks on the issue of fairness in women&#8217;s sports: in March 2025, when Charlie Kirk was a guest on Newsom&#8217;s podcast, Newsom distanced from the notion that men should be in women&#8217;s sports — something he has championed for years — calling the concept &#8220;deeply unfair.&#8221;
“Would you say no to men in female sports?”Kirk asked the California governor.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that,” Newsom responded. “It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair.”
The remark caught many politicos and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle by surprise, given that Newsom has celebrated his state&#8217;s law allowing boys in girls&#8217; sports, and additionally celebrated when conservative groups failed to repeal that very law.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases dealing with men in women&#8217;s sports and spaces, West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox. The results of the cases will decided whether 27 states can keep laws in place protecting women’s privacy in bathrooms and other spaces.
&#8220;As we await the Supreme Court’s rulings in Little v. Hecox and State of West Virginia v. B.P.J., we remain steadfast in enforcing Title IX as it was intended, rooted in biological reality to ensure fairness, safety, and equal access to education programs for women and girls across our nation,&#8221; Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said on the steps of the court on Tuesday.
&#8220;As President Trump has made clear,&#8221; she added, &#8220;America is in its Golden Age, one where female students and athletes have equal access to fair and safe competitions and female-only intimate spaces, free from divisive and discriminatory ideologies.&#8221;

Screenshot 2026-01-15 at 11.41.12 AM

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Admin Probes California Association For Trans Policy

Department of Education

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