Newsom knocked for ‘insane’ California gas prices after blaming Trump for rising costs

March 12, 2026 By Peter Pinedo 1 Comment

‘It’s entirely because of Gavin Newsom’s insane climate dogma that we have the highest gas taxes in the country,’ said GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton

While California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom blames President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran for the price of gas, critics are calling him out for “insane” climate policies as the state’s prices at the pump soar significantly above the national average.

On Tuesday, Newsom, who is widely considered a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, took to X to slam “Trump’s war with Iran” over gas prices.  

Newsom wrote that “Americans will pay $1.5 BILLION MORE at the gas pump just this week because of Donald Trump’s war with Iran.” He added that California “will continue using the tools we’ve spent years developing to help fight price spikes and lessen the blow from Trump’s recklessness.”

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

In response, Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, slammed Newsom, saying, “California has the highest gas taxes and fees in America.”

“Gavin Newsom is trying to shift blame,” said Hilton, “and he’s blaming these insane gas prices in California, $5.49, $5.69, heading to $6, on the war in Iran. It’s not the war in Iran, because in the rest of the country, they don’t have $5.49, they have $3 gas.”

“It’s entirely because of Gavin Newsom’s insane climate dogma that we have the highest gas taxes in the country,” he continued.

Hilton called on Newsom to end his national book tour and to immediately “suspend the gas tax.”

At approximately $5.33 per gallon, California has by far the highest average gas prices in the U.S., according to AAA. California gas prices significantly exceed those in the next two highest-priced states, Washington and Hawaii, which have average prices of $4.72 and $4.69 per gallon, respectively. Meanwhile, the national average in the U.S. is $3.57 per gallon.

Click here to read the full article at FoxNews

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , ,

Armed man shot and killed after entering Mar-a-Lago secure perimeter, Secret Service says

February 23, 2026 By Jenny Jarvie Leave a Comment

An armed man was shot and killed Sunday morning after he entered the secure perimeter of President Trump’s private Florida residence and resort, Mar-a-Lago, and was confronted by U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy.

The man killed was identified by investigators as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, from North Carolina, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation. Martin had been reported missing by his family a few days prior.

Trump, who on Saturday night hosted the annual Governors Dinner at the White House, was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the incident.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

According to the Secret Service, law enforcement officers spotted a man in his early 20s with a shotgun and a fuel can by the north gate of Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Fla., around 1:30 a.m.

When a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and two Secret Service agents went to investigate, they ordered him to drop the items, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric L. Bradshaw said during a news conference Sunday morning.

“He put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said. “At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat.”

The man was declared dead at the scene. Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, said no law enforcement agents were harmed in the incident.

The FBI is leading the investigation.

Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, said the Evidence Response Team is processing the scene and collecting evidence. He asked residents in the vicinity to check their exterior cameras and contact the FBI or the West Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office if they spotted anything that looks suspicious or out of place.

The officers involved were wearing body cameras, Bradshaw said.

Asked whether the man was known to law enforcement before the incident, Bradshaw said, “Not right now.”

The Secret Service said in a statement that it is working with the FBI and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to learn more about the deceased man’s background, actions and motive. The agents involved in the incident, it said, will be placed on routine administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy.”

The incident comes amid a wave of violence against political figures across the ideological spectrum.

Click here to read the full article at the LA Times

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Trump DOJ Moves to End LAUSD’s Outdated Race-Based PHBAO Program

February 21, 2026 By Megan Barth 1 Comment

The program labels roughly 90 percent of LAUSD schools as PHBAO, then punishes schools with higher percentages of White students by giving them larger class sizes, fewer resources, and lower priority for magnet programs

The Trump Justice Department has moved decisively to dismantle one of California’s most blatant examples of institutionalized racial discrimination in the second-largest school district in the country: the Los Angeles Unified School District’s PHBAO program.

In a motion to intervene in federal court (see below), the DOJ is backing the 1776 Project Foundation’s lawsuit against LAUSD’s six-decade-old PHBAO (Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Other Non-Anglo) scheme. The program labels roughly 90 percent of LAUSD schools as “PHBAO” based solely on racial demographics — then punishes schools with higher percentages of White students by giving them larger class sizes, fewer resources, and lower priority for magnet programs.

Simply put, if your child attends a school with “too many” White students, they get punished. This is not desegregation. It is government-sanctioned reverse discrimination.

Attorney General Pam Bondi made the administration’s position crystal clear: “Treating Americans equally is not a suggestion — it is a core constitutional guarantee that educational institutions must follow. This Department of Justice will never stop fighting to make that guarantee a reality, including for public-school students in Los Angeles.”

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the Trump-appointed prosecutor leading the charge in the Central District of California, stated the program is unconstitutional. “Now in its sixth decade, LAUSD’s desegregation program has outlived its usefulness to the point of being unconstitutional. School districts must treat their students equally and no longer discriminate on the basis of race,” Essayli stated.

The PHBAO program traces its roots to 1970s court orders following a 1970 Los Angeles Superior Court ruling that found LAUSD operated segregated schools. Class-size reduction tied to racial formulas began in 1978, with the specific PHBAO designation and magnet-point preferences formalized in the late 1970s and early 1980s. What began as a response to historical segregation has morphed into a permanent racial-caste system that now penalizes the district’s tiny White student population.

Today, White (non-Hispanic) students make up just 10% of LAUSD’s enrollment in a district that is approximately 73% Hispanic, 7% Black, and 4-5% Asian. Yet under PHBAO rules, schools with “too many” White students are treated as disadvantaged — receiving fewer teachers per student and reduced access to coveted programs.

This is the same Marxist ideology that has wrecked California’s public schools: prioritizing race over merit, equity over excellence, and social justice over color-blind justice. While LAUSD bleeds students and money — with attendance plummeting and families fleeing failing schools — bureaucrats continue playing racial bean-counting games with taxpayer dollars.

LAUSD parents have watched their children suffer in failing schools for years while bureaucrats played racial favorites. White families in “Anglo” schools got fewer teachers, larger classes, and slammed doors on opportunity — all because their skin color didn’t check the right demographic box.

The Trump DOJ’s intervention is a long-overdue rejection of this Marxist madness. It reaffirms that the Constitution demands color-blind justice — not racial punishment for White children whose only crime is their skin color in a majority-minority district.

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , ,

Furious with Trump, California Democrats plot election strategy in San Francisco

February 20, 2026 By Maya C. Miller and Jeanne Kuang 2 Comments

With so many candidates running for governor, it’s hard to keep up. We’re here to help: Sign up for our 2026 election newsletter to get the latest on the candidates.

California Democrats this weekend in San Francisco have an opportunity to set the tone in a pivotal election year when their voters could decide control of the U.S. House. 

As Democrats across the country push to harness dissatisfaction with the Trump administration into a transformative November midterm, all eyes are on the nation’s largest state party as it chooses who to support in California’s June primary.

Party leaders are riding high after voters backed Proposition 50, the ballot measure to gerrymander congressional districts in favor of Democrats. The three-day gathering gives it an early opportunity to build on that momentum for the upcoming elections.

The state’s marquee race this year is the one to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, a national Democratic star with presidential aspirations who terms out at the end of this year. But don’t expect a rousing party endorsement there: With nearly 10 candidates, it’s unlikely any of them will attract enough of the 3,500 expected Democratic delegates to secure the nod. Newsom himself won’t attend, a spokesperson said.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Instead, one of the biggest questions will be whether California Democrats continue to anoint establishment candidates — those with backing from elected party leaders, high-dollar donors and powerful lobbying groups — or if political newcomers can convert their grassroots support from the party into actual endorsements.

For years, young Democrats in particular have urged the party to embrace bolder, more progressive ideas such as universal health coverage, tuition-free college, banning the sale of arms to Israel and eschewing the Democratic Party’s longstanding deference to seniority and incumbency through term limits. The brashness of the second Trump administration has given new urgency to those demands as the Democratic base tires of what activists call a milquetoast “radical civility” approach. 

“The fact that we’re in a national emergency means there’s no time for incrementalism or moderation,” said Heidi Hall, a Nevada County supervisor and the first Democrat to announce she is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley to represent a competitive district east of Sacramento. 

“Any Democrat in office who’s not willing to fight this hard should get out, should step aside and let someone else in who is going to fight it,” Hall said. “Or they’re going to be complicit in what’s happening.”

Click here to read the full article at CalMatters

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Newsom takes his anti-Trump arguments to Europe during Munich Security Conference

February 15, 2026 By BILL BARROW and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, 5 Comments

All the world’s a stage for California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The second-term governor and likely 2028 presidential candidate has taken his Donald Trump-bashing tour to the Munich Security Conference, weeks after he was in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum.

“I hope, if there’s nothing else I can communicate today: Donald Trump is temporary. He’ll be gone in three years,” Newsom told his international audience Friday in Germany.

The official topic Friday was climate policy and countering a warming planet, and Newsom was more than willing to hammer Trump for “doubling down on stupid” by effectively gutting the nation’s regulation of carbon pollution.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

On Saturday, while still in Europe, Newsom plans to formalize a new partnership with Ukraine, signing a memorandum of understanding with regional leaders aimed at “advancing cooperation on economic recovery, innovation, and resilience,” according to his office.

The larger point of the travel, though, is Newsom continuing his effort to be recognized as Democrats’ highest-profile counter to the president, this time with a global emphasis. To be clear, Newsom doesn’t directly pitch himself as a presidential candidate yet. But his international appearances at Davos, when he told the international community to stand up to Trump, and then in Munich are just the latest of his many maneuvers that extend beyond his day job in Sacramento.

“He is certainly trying to project front-runner vibes,” said Democratic pollster Zac McCrary, whose Alabama-based firm was among the leading pollsters for Hillary Clinton’s, Joe Biden’s and Kamala Harris’ campaigns. “And like any Democratic governor trying to run for president, you have to build your national security credential, foreign policy chops. He’s in that phase here.”

Click here to read the full article at ABC News

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Sforza: A look into the ‘Eastman Derangement Syndrome’ fundraising pitch

February 14, 2026 By Staff Leave a Comment

Column: Former Chapman dean and Trump advisor John Eastman continues asking for money

You’ve heard of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and “Obama Derangement Syndrome.”

Meet “Eastman Derangement Syndrome”!

“A former colleague of mine wrote me this week with an observation about the lawfare assault I have been battling for four long years,” said a recent fundraising pitch from John Eastman, aiming to offset the $2 million he said his legal defense has cost.

“He said those who are pushing it, especially partisan Democrat prosecutors, suffer from EDS – Eastman Derangement Syndrome…. Indeed, the entire reason I am being persecuted – and prosecuted – by the lawfare left is because of my association with President Trump when I represented him back in 2020 to bring forth challenges to that election….

“Will you step forward with a generous gift of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or even $1,000 or more to the John Eastman Legal Defense Fund?”

Not to quarrel with the former Chapman Law dean, but the folks “persecuting” Eastman (in Arizona and California) argue that he’s in the legal crosshairs for committing legal sins, from fashioning dubious plans to help Trump hold on to power in 2020, to testifying inaccurately to state legislatures, to advising others on filing false state electoral certification documents, to riling up the crowd at the “Stop the Steal” rally with “crazy talk” about hidden folders in voting machines and massive fraud that did not, in fact, exist, on Jan. 6, 2021.

The California State Bar charged him with moral turpitude, dishonesty and/or corruption, willful misconduct and/or gross negligence, for trying to reverse the legitimate results of an election and essentially yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Federal Judge David O. Carter concluded it was “more likely than not” that federal crimes were committed in trying to obstruct the congressional count of Electoral College votes.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Eastman was criminally charged in Georgia and pleaded not guilty, but that case is kaput. He was criminally charged in Arizona and pleaded not guilty, but that case is stalled. His law license is on ice in California and he’s fighting to save it, but it’s an uphill battle to get it reinstated.

“In my view, those most seriously afflicted with EDS are prosecutors in Arizona and California,” Eastman’s email continued. “One wants to put me in prison for decades while the other wants to bar me from ever practicing law and fighting for conservative constitutional principles and the rule of law.”

“These EDS prosecutors, along with others similarly afflicted, have cost me nearly $2 million defending myself. And as it happens, I am in the midst of what could be the final battles in Arizona and California where we’re going toe-to-toe with EDS Democrats in the state Supreme Court of each of these states. These legal battles are difficult and expensive, and I urgently need your help to prevail. My legal defense fund is nearly empty. Please consider a generous donation to help me continue the fight.”

He signed it, “John C. Eastman, Constitutional Scholar, Former Attorney to President Doanld (sic) Trump.”

Eastman received a federal pardon from President Trump in November — a “Federal Deflection Shield,” some called it — but it cannot protect Eastman from state charges or losing his law license.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Grimes: Trump EPA Overturns Bogus Obama Greenhouse Gas Rule

February 14, 2026 By Staff 1 Comment

‘It has nothing to do with public health – it was all a scam, a giant scam’

The Trump EPA has revoked the Obama Administration’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” which classified greenhouse gases as a threat to public health, marking a significant rollback of climate regulations, and saving American taxpayers over $1.3 trillion.

The 2009 Obama EPA decision determined that certain greenhouse gases (GHG) endanger public health and welfare, but lacked scientific proof. The Obama EPA used temperature changes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center as Technical Support. The subsequent regulations have impacted everything from vehicle tailpipe emissions to the release of greenhouse gases from power plants and other businesses deemed polluters by the government.

It was only about control.

Supporters of the bogus GHG rule claim because of overturning this rule, pollution will increase, and people will die because of the rollback.

“It has nothing to do with public health – it was all a scam, a giant scam,” President Trump told media. He also announced that because of the Obama and Biden era EPA regulations, the cost of a car increased by 22 percent.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Thursday the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history – the revocation of the bogus 16-year-old Obama Greenhouse Gas Rule. Zeldin said with this move, the EPA is saving American taxpayers over $1.3 trillion, eliminating both the Obama-era 2009 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Endangerment Finding and all subsequent federal GHG emission standards for all vehicles and engines of model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond.

The action also eliminates the almost universally hated start-stop feature in modern autos.

“EPA’s historic move restores consumer choice, makes more affordable vehicles available for American families, and decreases the cost of living on all products by lowering the cost of trucks,” the EPA said.

This major deregulatory process included substantial public input and robust analysis of the law following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and West Virginia v. EPA.

The 2009 “endangerment finding” was the basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. This move is seen as a significant rollback of climate regulations and has sparked criticism for potentially increasing pollution and undermining efforts to combat climate change.

The climate change industrial complex is about to get a rude awakening.

This rule change has been in the works. In April, the Globe reported that President Trump issued an executive order targeting California’s climate change laws and policies, specifically naming California’s sketchy Cap and Trade  program, which ostensibly facilitates greenhouse gas emission reductions. It’s really just a shakedown of California businesses.

Trump is promoting “all of the above” energy policy, including nuclear power… even in California.

In the 16 years the Obama GHG rule was in place, there was never any science produced to justify the devastating, business-killing rule.

“After carefully considering and reevaluating the legal foundation of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and the text of the Clean Air Act, in light of subsequent legal developments and court decisions,  the EPA concluded the Clean Air Act does not provide statutory authority for EPA to order motor vehicle and engine emission standards, including for the purpose of addressing global climate change. They concluded that there was no legal basis for the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations.”

“The EPA firmly believes the 2009 Endangerment Finding made by the Obama Administration exceeded the agency’s authority to combat ‘air pollution’ that harms public health and welfare, and that a policy decision of this magnitude, which carries sweeping economic and policy consequences, lies solely with Congress. Unlike our predecessors, the Trump EPA is committed to following the law exactly as it is written and as Congress intended—not as others might wish it to be.”

“The Endangerment Finding has been the source of 16 years of consumer choice restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans,” said Administrator Zeldin. “Referred to by some as the ‘Holy Grail’ of the ‘climate change religion,’ the Endangerment Finding is now eliminated. The Trump EPA is strictly following the letter of the law, returning commonsense to policy, delivering consumer choice to Americans and advancing the American Dream. As EPA Administrator, I am proud to deliver the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history on behalf of American taxpayers and consumers. As an added bonus, the off-cycle credit for the almost universally despised start-stop feature on vehicles has been removed.”


Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

The 2009 Endangerment Finding was used to justify trillions of dollars in regulations, including the Obama and Biden Administrations’ illegal push towards EV mandates and compliance requirements, the EPA said.

The final rule will save Americans over $1.3 trillion by removing the regulatory requirements that exist solely to support the vehicle greenhouse gas regulatory regime.

California’s sketchy Cap-and-Trade Program

California’s cap-and-trade program places a “cap” on aggregate greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and utilities deemed “polluters” by the California Air Resources Board, which the CARB says are responsible for most of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Lame duck no more? Trump stockpiles hundreds of millions ahead of midterms.

February 3, 2026 By Jessica Piper 3 Comments

Campaign finance disclosures filed late Saturday revealed details of the president’s unmatched political fundraising operation.

Donald Trump’s political war chest grew dramatically in the second half of 2025, according to new campaign finance disclosures submitted late Saturday, giving him an unprecedented amount of money for a term-limited president to influence the midterms and beyond.

Trump raised $26 million through his joint fundraising committee in the back half of last year, and another $8 million directly into his leadership PAC. And a super PAC linked to him has more than $300 million in the bank.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

All together, a web of campaign accounts, some of which he controls directly and others under the care of close allies, within the president’s orbit have $375 million in their coffers.

The funds far outstrip those of any other political figure — Republican or Democrat — entering 2026, and have no real historical precedent. And Trump could put them to use this year for the midterms, or to shape future elections, even as he cannot run for president again.

Trump continues to outpace any other Republican in raising money, both from large and small-dollar donors. His joint fundraising committee — Trump National Committee, which pools fundraising for a variety of Trump-aligned groups — accounted for 1 in 8 dollars raised on WinRed, the primary Republican online fundraising platform, during the second half of 2025, according to a POLITICO analysis.

And no super PAC raised even half as much in 2025 as the $289 million from MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC that both the president and Vice President J.D. Vance appeared at fundraisers for last year.

Trump has given few clues as to how he might put the funds to use. Trump National Committee primarily sends funds to the president’s leadership PAC, Never Surrender, with a bit of money also going to the Republican National Committee and Vance’s leadership PAC, Working For Ohio.

Candidates cannot use leadership PAC money for their own election efforts. But the accounts — which are common across Washington and have long been derided by anti-money in politics groups as “slush funds” — allow politicians to dole out money to allies or fund political travel.

Never Surrender spent $6.7 million from July through December, with more than half of that total going toward advertising, digital consulting and direct mail — expenses typically linked to fundraising.

So far, Trump’s groups have held their powder in Republican primaries. While Trump has endorsed against a handful of Republican incumbents now locked in competitive primaries — including Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — and threatened others, he hasn’t used money. A super PAC targeting Massie, MAGA KY, is run by Trump allies but has largely been funded by GOP megadonor Paul Singer.

Click here to read the full article in Politico

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Trump Admin – 365 Wins in 365 Days Back in Office are Wins for the People

February 2, 2026 By Katy Grimes 1 Comment

What a difference an election makes

What a difference an election makes. President Donald Trump and his administration hit the ground running, with a mandate to restore prosperity, secure the border, rebuild American strength, and put the American people first.

What a difference an election makes. We went from open borders and record crime to negative net migration for the first time in 50 years to the largest homicide drop on record.

Trump imposed tariffs to restore trade balance and in return the U.S. has received trillions in reshored investments.

He’s brokered peace deals ending multiple wars. We have record energy production (not in California) and he’s made massive cuts to the federal bureaucracy.

President Trump has put America First with urgency.

Many of his “wins” are also wins for Californians, despite the Democratic supermajority and Governor Gavin Newsom. Imagine what California could be with a governor and Legislature that loved the state more than the perks and lifestyle from being in elected office.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Here are just some of the highlights from President Trump’s first 365 days back in office including one you may not be aware of… President Trump signed an executive order to end the use of paper straws:

  • Achieved negative net migration in 2025, reversing a 50-year trend and restoring U.S. control over immigration flows for the first time in a generation.
  • Removed more than 2.6 million illegal aliens from the United States through deportations and voluntary self-departures.
  • Carried out over 650,000 arrests, detentions, and deportations of illegal aliens — including the worst of the worst criminal illegal alien killers, rapists, gang members, and repeat offenders.
  • Deported more than 400,000 illegal aliens charged with or convicted of crimes.
  • Induced two million self-deportations by ending Biden-era release incentives and restoring credible consequences.
  • Reduced illegal border crossings to their lowest level since the 1970s, completely eradicating the Biden-era invasion.
  • Cut fentanyl trafficking at the southern border by 56%.
  • Permanently ended dangerous “catch-and-release” policies nationwide by detaining illegal aliens rather than releasing them into the interior — resulting in a 99.9% decrease in illegals being released into the country during the Biden era.
  • Cut the number of new foreign students in the U.S. by 17%.
  • Removed 275,000 illegal aliens from Social Security rolls, protecting program integrity.
  • Delivered the largest one-year decline in homicides in U.S. history by launching targeted federal crime crackdowns and ending Biden-era non-enforcement.
  • Reversed the nationwide violent crime surge, driving nationwide drops in rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults by 6%, 19%, and 10%, respectively.
  • Cut overdose deaths by 21% over last year, with overdose deaths declining each month since President Trump took office.
  • Drove gas prices to their lowest level in nearly five years, with prices below $3 per gallon in 43 states and below $2 per gallon in 19 states.
  • Created 654,000 private-sector jobs following deregulation, tax relief, and restored investment confidence.
  • Ensured 100% of net job growth went to native-born Americans by enforcing immigration laws.
  • Achieved massive economic growth, with real GDP rising 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025 — smashing economists’ expectations and setting the stage for future growth, with GDP projected to be even higher in the fourth quarter as President Trump’s policies continue to take effect.
  • Oversaw the largest increase in blue-collar wage growth in nearly 60 years.
  • Increased private-sector real earnings by $1,100 annually — earning back some of the $2,900 in purchasing power workers lost under Biden.
  • Signed the Working Families Tax Cut, delivering the largest middle-class tax relief package in modern U.S. history and saving 5.9 million jobs.
  • Delivered on his No Tax on Tips campaign promise.
  • Delivered on his No Tax on Overtime campaign promise.
  • Delivered on his No Tax on Social Security campaign promise for our great seniors.
  • Delivered unprecedented tax relief for small businesses and other key industries, building on the successful Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from his first term and opening the door for new levels of prosperity to come.
  • Secured congressional passage of a $9 billion rescissions package, permanently canceling wasteful spending — like the wasteful taxpayer funding of NPR and PBS.
  • Terminated wasteful foreign aid programs inconsistent with America First priorities through a $5 billion pocket rescission.
  • Reversed onerous Biden-era fuel economy standards that would have added nearly $1,000 to the cost of the average new vehicle, delivering billions in savings for consumers.
  • Launched a plan for fair and reciprocal trade, making clear to the world that the United States will no longer tolerate being ripped off and directing his Administration to confront non-reciprocal trade barriers and negotiate fairer market access for U.S. exports.
  • Sent tariff revenues soaring, collecting $300 billion under expanded enforcement and new policies.
  • Restored a 25% tariff on steel imports and elevated the tariff to 25% on aluminum imports to protect these critical American industries from unfair foreign competition – a move praised by the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Aluminum Association, and businesses across the country.
  • Expanded skilled-trade training programs through Labor grants and executive direction.
  • Approved major U.S. auto manufacturing expansions following reshoring incentives.
  • Approved new heavy-equipment and appliance manufacturing facilities across multiple states.
  • Solidified the U.S. position as the world leader in artificial intelligence, attracting $2.7 trillion in tech and AI investment.
  • Secured $90 billion in AI and energy investment in Pennsylvania alone through direct presidential engagement and relentless advocacy for the commonwealth’s resources.
  • Reached a deal for the U.S. government to acquire a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel, with Intel’s stock roughly doubling since.
  • Launched the Presidential Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge, inviting K-12 students and educators across America to participate.
  • NASA announced the U.S. will return to the moon before President Trump leaves office.
  • Ended the Israel–Hamas war by imposing a ceasefire framework, securing the release of hostages, and enacting a landmark Gaza Peace Plan to unleash total security and prosperity for all in the region.
  • Brokered an end to the 12-Day War between Israel and Iran.
  • Brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
  • Brokered peace between India and Pakistan.
  • Brokered peace between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
  • Brokered peace between Cambodia and Thailand.
  • Brokered normalization between Kosovo and Serbia.
  • Brokered peace between Egypt and Ethiopia.
  • Established a U.S.-backed framework to end the Ukraine–Russia war, setting enforceable ceasefire benchmarks and reconstruction incentives.
  • Restored maximum pressure on Iran.
  • Met or exceeded military recruitment goals across all branches by restoring pride, pay, and mission clarity as the Armed Forces returns to its warfighting standards of excellence.
  • Made the largest military investment in decades, modernizing our forces with cutting-edge technology, rebuilding depleted stockpiles, and ensuring our troops are the best-equipped in history.
  • Modernized U.S. military capabilities through accelerated weapons development and procurement reform.
  • Integrated artificial intelligence into U.S. defense planning and battlefield operations.
  • Improved overall military readiness by reversing Biden‑era diversity mandates and readiness declines.
  • Delivered a $1,776 Warrior Dividend to nearly 1.5 million service members.
  • Restored Fort Liberty, North Carolina, to “Fort Bragg,” in honor of a World War II hero.
  • Renamed Fort Moore, Georgia, as “Fort Benning” in honor of a World War I hero.
  • Saved an estimated $215 billion — equivalent to $1,335 per U.S. taxpayer — through the Trump Administration’s government efficiency efforts.
  • Eliminated discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” offices, employees, and practices across the bureaucracy alongside a return to merit-based hiring.
Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Trump is winning his water tug-of-war with Newsom

January 30, 2026 By Camille von Kaenel 1 Comment

President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom are in a race to capture as much water as possible in California — possibly even at each other’s expense.

SACRAMENTO, California — President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are so in sync on California water that they’re in a race to capture as much of it as possible — even at each other’s expense.

Trump and Newsom’s relative alignment on water issues has been good news all around for farmers and cities that draw from both sides of the state’s main water hub: the federally run Central Valley Project, and the aptly named State Water Project, which is state-run.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Water deliveries have ticked up, mostly as a result of back-to-back wet years but also as a result of loosened environmental rules on both sides, much to the chagrin of environmental groups concerned about the collapse of endangered fish populations in the sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

But the feds have been steadily squeezing out more water over the course of the past year — to the point where state customers are getting worried that their own supplies could be in jeopardy.

“It’s on my radar,” said Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors, which represents the 27 water agencies and 27 million people getting state supplies.

Karla Nemeth, California’s director of water resources, has already played out the scenario in which the state would have to reduce its own pumping to keep enough water flowing through the Delta for endangered fish if the feds took a lot of water: “We talk in real time about whether or not that has the potential to happen and how to avoid that happening,” she said.

“It gets tricky,” she added. “That’s where we have an actual harm to the State Water Project.”

In pre-Trump times, the state and federal sides of the projects operated in tandem, obeying the same pumping limits meant to protect endangered fish. But federal and state water managers have been following diverging rules since Trump’s first administration, when the Interior Department loosened its protections and the state sued. (Newsom has since ordered his own regulators to maximize water supplies, too.)

The situation worsened a year ago when federal officials ordered large releases from two Central Valley dams against established operating norms in an attempt to send water south for the Los Angeles fires, raising the prospect of chaos in the usually closely coordinated joint system of pumps, reservoirs and canals across the state.

Last month saw more divergence: Both state and feds gave their water managers more leeway over pumping, but the state still has to follow stricter environmental limits. The federal government’s more lenient rules allowed it to export roughly 24,000 more acre-feet of water than the state government during the first major storm of the water year in December, according to both state and federal water officials.

Click here to read the full article in Politico

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , ,