Free Republic

In an expose written by senior fellow Christopher Rufo at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research for the Institute's City Journal he wrote "experts and Health & Human Services officials estimated that fraud has consumed between $180 billion and $280 billion of public funds meant to provide heath care, unemployment benefits and general welfare payments." "While the state's indifferent and careless administration of these programs is the primary culprit, the lax enforcement of the federal government under Biden, and now Trump, bears a share of the blame," Rufo asserted. "Thousands of reports from whistleblowers led to fewer than 100 prosecutions."...

California’s In-Home Supportive Services Program is ripe for scams, experts say. California Governor Gavin Newsom is embroiled in a national fraud scandal. Thus far, much of the coverage has focused on alleged schemes related to unemployment insurance, hospice care, and food stamps. In this exclusive investigation, we shine a light on one of California’s largest initiatives: the In-Home Supportive Services Program, or IHSS, which pays family members and other individuals to provide home-based care for the elderly and disabled—at a cost of nearly $30 billion per year. On the surface, IHSS presents itself as an instrument of compassion, directing billions...

Europe bets on California’s Gavin Newsom as a strategic counterweight to the Trump agenda. Donald Trump’s opposition to climate policy and mass immigration is putting massive pressure on Europe. There, preparations are underway to support California governor Gavin Newsom. He is expected, as the 48th president, to prevent a continuation of Trump’s policies. America remains a country of high social mobility and upward opportunity -- something we no longer see on today’s European continent. It may sound kitschy to many Europeans, yet America's vibrant economic centers, high geographic mobility, and the flexibility of its people still create the conditions for...

Gavin Newsom’s transport secretary has admitted criticism of California’s high-speed rail is justified — as estimates of the project show it will be a struggle to be completed. Officials now say it will cost an eye-watering $126 billion to finish the line from Los Angeles to San Francisco — which is more money than Amtrak has ever received from the federal government since it was established in 1971, a damning 60 Minutes report revealed. That’s and a huge uptick when compared to the $33 billion voters were told the rail would cost when it was announced way back in 2008....

California is a cash machine. The state collects some of the country’s highest income, business, and fuel taxes, and now spends more than $300 billion per year. And yet, everywhere you look, California seems to be falling apart. Mismanaged wildfires have turned neighborhoods into ash. Drug addiction and homelessness have metastasized, turning parts of Los Angeles and San Francisco into no-go zones. And the cost-of-living crisis is pricing middle-class taxpayers out of basic necessities like groceries and gas, even as the state spends billions on welfare programs that never seem to lift anyone out of poverty. Where is all this...

After being offline for more than a decade, oil is officially flowing again through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System off the coast of Southern California. The network of pipelines, which pass through Santa Barbara County before ending at Pentland Station in Kern County, restarted Monday following an executive order from President Donald Trump on Friday, which has been seized on by Gavin Newsom. “This is an attempt to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting,” Newsom said in a statement when Trump first announced plans for Sable to resume...

A California pedophile imprisoned for a horrific string of sex crimes could soon walk free after being granted parole under a controversial law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, has been granted early release thanks to a 2020 law that offers parole to “elderly” convicts 50 and older who have served 20 or more years in prison. Vogelsang molested several children in the ’90s in the Sacramento area before being convicted on dozens of felony counts, including a lewd act on a child, kidnapping a child to commit a lewd act, and lewd act on a...

TEHRAN — Rumors of the Ayatollah regime's nefarious plot to launch an assault on the west coast of the United States hit a snag on Wednesday, as Iran canceled plans to attack California after seeing Gavin Newsom had already destroyed it. The Iranian government had issued threats that it was prepared to take revenge on the U.S. by launching attacks against California, but leaders were said to have reconsidered their plan after intelligence reports showed that the state had been completely decimated under Newsom's leadership. "You can't destroy something that's already destroyed," said a spokesman for the supreme leader. "We...

As gas prices continue climbing in California — already the highest in the nation — residents are increasingly venting their frustration at Gov. Gavin Newsom, accusing him and Sacramento of piling on policies and “taxing us to death.” The backlash centers on draft regulations tied to the state’s Cap-and-Invest program, overseen by the California Air Resources Board, which sets a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions and requires major polluters to purchase allowances for each ton of carbon they emit. Critics say tightening those caps — strongly backed by Newsom — could further drive up the cost of gasoline and...

Longtime journalist Katie Couric asked if Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., had a problem with being "ridiculously good-looking." During an interview on Couric's "Next Question" podcast released Thursday, the former "Today" co-host remarked on how Newsom has been described as "slick" and whether that was a reference to his hairstyle. Newsom acknowledged that the comments had caused him to play into a "character." "Do you have a 'Zoolander' problem?" Couric asked, referencing the 2001 Ben Stiller comedy. After Newsom began laughing at the comment, she followed, "Are you just ridiculously good-looking, as Vogue said? No, seriously. What do you do about...

Gov. Gavin Newsom grinned like Cheshire at civil rights icon Jesse Jackson’s public memorial service Friday – treating it as a campaign event as the rumored 2028 presidential hopeful schmoozed with Democratic heavyweights including Presidents Obama and Clinton. The California governor was pictured working the room and snapping selfies with Democratic party elites, as thousands of people gathered at a church on Chicago’s South Side to pay a final public tribute to Jackson. In one telling moment, Obama, who was front row at the event, turned around and pointed directly at Newsom, who’s also been on the publicity trail for...

The California governor made the remarks at an event to promote his new memoir, 'Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.'California Governor Gavin Newsom compared Israel to an “apartheid state” and questioned future U.S. military support for the country. Speaking on stage at an event to promote his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Newsom, who is widely expected to enter the 2028 presidential race, was asked by Pod Save America host Jon Favreau about the U.S.-Israel relationship and whether it should be reconsidered. “It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in...

California Governor Gavin Newsom shared the strange origin story behind the infamous “Newscum” nickname, a moniker coined by President Donald Trump. In a late-night phone call, Newsom claims the president called him to test out the nickname, which he later adopted in his public tirades against. In a candid interview on “The Rest Is Politics” podcast, Newsom recounted the unusual exchange, which took place late one night in 2025.

Team Gavin Newsom could not resist a cheap shot against President Trump following the bombing of Iran, and it promptly blew up in their faces. As The Gateway Pundit reported, the United States and Israel launched ‘Operation Epic Fury’ against Iran over the weekend. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was eliminated in a joint military operation conducted by Israel and the United States this weekend. At least 40 other senior Iranian regime leaders were also killed in the strikes. Several Democrats predictably condemned the attack. Not surprisingly, Newsom was one of them. Following the bombing, Newsom’s team slammed Trump...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom received intense blowback for calling the joint US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran an “illegal, dangerous war” while ripping President Trump’s decision to attack Tehran.. “The corrupt and repressive Iranian regime must never have nuclear weapons. The leadership of Iran must go,” Newsom wrote on X Saturday, after the US and Israel launched the coordinated strikes early that morning. “But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people. "President Trump is...

Thousands of California’s convicted pedophiles have been released from prison Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “elderly parole program” Monday, which is allowing David Funston, a serial child rapist to be released from prison. Funston terrorized Sacramento neighborhoods by luring very young children with candy. He kidnapped, brutalized and raped children as young as age 3, then would toss them to the side of the road when he was done. A judge called him “the monster parents fear the most.” Thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Funston will be on the streets again. And now Gavin Newsom is...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been accused of racism after citing his underwhelming SAT score during a chat with a black elected official over the weekend. “I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, ‘I’m like you. I’m not better than you.’ I’m a 960 SAT guy,” Newsom told Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens during a Sunday night event promoting his forthcoming memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry”. “And I’m not trying to offend anyone,” the potential 2028 Democratic contender went on. “I’m not trying to act all there if you got 940 … You’ve never...

The governor of California, whose dad was the attorney for the billionaire Getty family, went full Hillary-Clinton-and-hot-sauce in his interview with the "All the Smoke" podcast: Yes, Gavin Newsom is just like your average rags to riches NBA story of a poor kid, shootin' hoops in the backyard, and who never would have made it out of the neighborhood if it wasn't for ballin'. Is anyone, other than that podcast host, buying this from Newsom? Anyone? SNIP

Poor Gavin Newsom. Who knew he grew up poor, had to hustle to stay alive, resorting to Wonder Bread and Mac-n-Cheese for meals, according to his latest guest appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast? Most poor families back in the 1970’s and 1980’s ate generic, day-old store-brand bread, discounted canned soup and meats, and government cheese. I knew skinny poor kids. Here is the “All the Smoke” podcast: Notice during the podcast video Newsom slips into some street slang, claiming “It was about payin’ the bills, man.” “Wonder bread and Mac ‘n cheese. That’s how I grew up, bro.”...

Feb 23, 2026