Politics
At Newsom's urging, lawmakers consider more oil regulations in California
The California Assembly on Tuesday passed legislation aimed at reducing sudden gas price increases, action inspired by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political battle with the oil industry over blame for the state’s nation-leading per-gallon costs at the pump.
The extended deliberations at the state Capitol over affordability underscore the challenges state Democratic leaders face carrying out their agenda to transition California away from a dependence on fossil fuels.
In the ongoing special legislative session called by Newsom, the Democratic-led Assembly approved bills that give the state the authority to place new requirements on California oil refiners to keep adequate reserves. The mandate could prevent price spikes in the future but offers no immediate relief at the pump.
It’s the second year in a row that lawmakers have targeted California’s gas price increases. The proposals must also be adopted by the Senate and signed by the governor to become law.
“The goal is simple: Guarantee that fuel reserves are readily available for consumers during maintenance events and supply constraints,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), who introduced one of the two bills approved Tuesday. “Let’s take action now to provide relief to Californians who need gasoline in their cars to get to work, drive their children to school, vote and visit loved ones.”
As the November election fast approaches, lawmakers rejected Republican calls to change climate laws to potentially deliver larger and faster savings to consumers.
“If we didn’t come here to actually lower consumers’ gas prices, then why are we here?” asked Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) during the floor session. “And what I’m hearing is that all we’re really considering is this proposal from the governor that doesn’t lower gas prices. At best, in theory, it will stop gas price spikes. But the people that I hear from, and that I’m sure you hear from, your constituents, think that the price of gas is too damn high right now.”
The Assembly passed legislation Tuesday to authorize the California Energy Commission, through its rulemaking process, to mandate that oil refiners maintain a minimum inventory level to avoid shortages when equipment goes off line because of maintenance issues.
The lower house also approved a bill that sets a July 1 deadline for the energy commission and the California Air Resources Board to recommend ways to increase the state’s gasoline supply, such as adding more ethanol to fuel, limiting the use of the state’s summer blend or adopting other potential solutions.
The governor alleges that a handful of oil refineries, which produce the state’s special blend of more environmentally friendly fuel, are manipulating the market to maximize their profits at the expense of Californians.
After gathering more insight about pricing from laws passed in the previous special session on oil prices last year, state regulators had reported that charges at the pump increase when the oil companies do not maintain enough refined gasoline to backfill production shortfalls or protect against the effect of unplanned maintenance.
“I’m grateful to the Assembly for joining with me in our efforts to prevent gas price spikes and save Californians money at the pump,” Newsom said in a statement. “Just last year, price spikes cost Californians more than $2 billion — forcing many families to make tough decisions like choosing between fueling up or putting food on the table. This has to end, and with the Legislature’s support, we’ll get this done for California families.”
Newsom was not present during the vote. He attended the inauguration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on Tuesday.
Oil companies say price spikes are a result of the state’s climate change policies, which increase the cost of bringing gasoline to the market and leave the state dependent on a small number of refineries. The Legislature’s repeated efforts to regulate a complex oil market, the industry says, could have the adverse consequence of raising the prices they seek to lower.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) declined to have the lower house vote on a very similar proposal that Newsom sought to push through the Legislature in the final weeks of the regular session in late August, citing the need for more time to hold hearings and consider the bill.
Newsom’s office had begun talking with the Senate and Assembly earlier in the summer about legislation that would allow his administration to require that petroleum refiners maintain a stable inventory. Newsom and his aides hoped the bill would become part of a package of legislation supported by the Senate and Assembly, which failed to materialize.
After Rivas said the Assembly wanted more time, Newsom convened a special session on Aug. 31.
Through a series of hearings over the last month, Assembly members sorted through the contrasting narratives from the governor and the industry to understand the best path forward to regulate a complex oil market.
Gallagher introduced a proposal that would have exempted transportation fuels from California’s cap-and-trade program, which he said could save consumers 30 cents per gallon of gasoline. The bill also would have required regulators to waive requirements for California to use its summer blend of gasoline, which is more expensive, when prices raise or supply is low.
Assembly Democrats rejected the bill in a legislative hearing. Republicans voiced concerns that prices will continue to go up next year under changes to the cap-and-trade program and the state’s low carbon fuel standard.
“This has got to be the biggest dog and pony show I’ve seen up here in 10 years,” said Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) during the floor vote. “We are blaming everything we can on the reason why gas is so expensive in our state, except for the fact that the governor and this body haven’t moved.”
After the vote, Rivas offered a reminder that the special session was convened specifically to tackle price spikes.
“It’s estimated by the state that this is going to result in around $2 billion to local residents,” he said about the potential savings to consumers. “But we have to do a lot more when it comes to this affordability crisis that the state faces, both at the gas pump and so many other areas.”
Democrats in the California Senate, who said they wanted to pass Newsom’s original proposal about supply mandates before the regular session ended, decided to wait for the Assembly to vote on the bills before reconvening the upper house in the special session.
The Senate pro tem’s office has said the house would be “ready to convene, establish our process and act swiftly to provide the relief all Californians deserve” after the Assembly took action. The Senate is expected to gather as early as next week to review the bills.
U.S. military forces stopped and boarded a second sanctioned tanker carrying oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon said on Thursday, ramping up pressure on Tehran as the Trump administration seeks to resume negotiations to end the war.
A naval boarding team roped down from hovering helicopters and fanned out on the vessel, the M/T Majestic X, according to a Pentagon statement that included a 17-second video of the operation.
The military said the boarding was part of a “global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate.”
Earlier this week, Navy SEALS boarded another ship in the Indian Ocean, the M/T Tifani, after the Pentagon said it was carrying oil from Iran.
Navy destroyers are also shadowing several other Iranian vessels, including the Dorena and Sevin, which had left from the Iranian port of Chabahar before the U.S.-imposed blockade began on April 13, a U.S. military official said. The Navy is directing those ships to return to an Iranian port, the official said.
With the M/T Tifani and M/T Majestic X now at least temporarily in the custody of the military, a U.S. military official said it was up to the White House to decide what to do with the sanctioned vessels and their cargo. The administration previously seized several tankers carrying illicit oil from Venezuela after a U.S. commando raid there in January that seized Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president.
“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors,” the Pentagon said in its statement on Thursday, adding that the department would “continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hinted last week that the U.S. military would likely commence boarding operations like the ones this week. He said that U.S. military commanders elsewhere in the world, and especially in the Indo-Pacific region, would “actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.”
The U.S. Navy has turned back at least 31 ships trying to enter or exit Iranian ports since an American blockade outside the contested Strait of Hormuz began about a week ago, U.S. Central Command said late Wednesday.
Last Sunday, a Navy destroyer disabled and seized the Touska, an Iranian cargo ship, after it tried to evade the blockade. It was the first time a vessel was reported to have tried to evade the U.S.-imposed blockade on any ship entering or exiting Iranian ports since it took effect last week.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained why President Donald Trump does not consider Iran’s seizure of two ships in the Strait of Hormuz a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Leavitt made the statement during an interview with Fox News’ Martha McCallum on Wednesday just hours after Iran captured the Greek and Mediterranean-flagged vessels.
“Does the seizure of two ships — as we said, they were Greek and Mediterranean-owned ships with cargo on them, and the reports are that Iran basically seized them and then moved them into Iranian waters. We don’t know what’s going to happen to these crews. We’re not sure where all of this is going. Does the president view that as a violation of the ceasefire?” McCallum asked.
“No, because these were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels,” Leavitt responded.
US FORCES ATTEMPTING TO BOARD SANCTIONED RUSSIAN-FLAGGED OIL TANKER IN NORTH ATLANTIC, SOURCES SAY
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, conducts a press briefing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“And for the American media, who are sort of blowing this out of proportion to discredit the president’s facts that he has completely obliterated Iran’s conventional Navy, these two ships were taken by speedy gunboats. Iran has gone from having the most lethal Navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates. They don’t have control over the strait,” she continued.
“This is piracy that we are seeing on display. And the naval blockade that the United States has imposed continues to be incredibly effective. And, to be clear, the blockade is on ships going to and from Iranian ports. And the point of this is the economic leverage that we maintain over Iran now. While there’s a ceasefire with respect to the military and kinetic strikes, Operation Economic Fury continues, and the crux of that is this naval blockade,” she added.
The Iranian made ‘Seraj’ a high-speed missile-launching assault boat on display in Tehran on August 23, 2010, as Iran kicked off mass production of two high-speed missile-launching assault boats the ‘Seraj’ (Lamp) and ‘Zolfaqar’ (named after Shiite Imam Ali’s sword) speedboats which will be manufactured at the marine industries complex of the ministry of defense. (YALDA MOAIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, were operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems, accusations that could not be independently verified. The ships had earlier reported coming under fire near the strait, underscoring the increasingly volatile conditions in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.
US ‘LOCKED AND LOADED’ TO DESTROY IRAN’S ‘CROWN JEWEL’ ‘IF WE WANT,’ TRUMP WARNS
The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported. It did not seize that vessel.
Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Both the U.S. and Iranian sides have targeted commercial and cargo vessels as part of a broader pressure campaign tied to stalled negotiations. U.S. forces have also moved to seize at least one Iranian-linked vessel in the region, with each side accusing the other of violating the terms of a fragile ceasefire.
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The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for global oil shipments, with roughly 20% of the world’s supply passing through it. Traffic has slowed dramatically as ships reroute or avoid the area amid gunfire, seizures and conflicting directives from both militaries.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met privately with President Trump and administration officials Wednesday to press for federal support and yet-unpaid wildfire recovery funding as the region continues to rebuild from the 2025 fires.
“This afternoon we met with President Trump and Administration officials to advocate for families who lost everything,” Bass and Barger said in a statement. “We had a very positive discussion about FEMA and other rebuilding funds as well as the support of the President to continue joining us in pressuring the insurance companies to pay what they owe — and for the big banks to step up to ease the financial pressure on L.A. families.”
Barger said the two leaders had a “high-level discussion” with the president in the Oval Office, sharing stories about what fire survivors are experiencing day to day. She added that “we left details behind with the President,” but did not specify whether Trump made any funding or policy promises during the meeting.
“First and foremost, today’s meeting was to thank the President for his initial support of infusing federal resources to expedite debris removal, as well as his recent tweet about insurance companies, which have already proven fruitful,” she said in a statement provided to The Times.
Bass was similarly reserved about the discussions, telling reporters that “we will follow up with the details,” but signaled progress is being made on federal support.
“I think what’s important is that we certainly got the president’s support in terms of, you know, what is needed, and then the appropriate people were in the room for us to follow up. And that was Russ Vought, who is the head of the Office of Management and budget,” Bass told KNX on Wednesday.
The meeting comes on the heels of a yearlong standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration over wildfire recovery funding, disaster response and whether the federal government should have a say in local rebuilding permitting.
California leaders, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused the Trump administration of withholding billions in critical wildfire aid, prompting a lawsuit over stalled recovery funds. Officials allege political bias in the delay of billions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Newsom visited Washington in December. When he made his rounds on Capitol Hill, he met with five lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House appropriations committees, to renew calls for $33.9 billion in federal aid for Los Angeles County fire recovery.
But the governor said he was denied a meeting with FEMA and would not say whether he had attempted to meet with Trump to discuss the issue.
Bass, meanwhile, appears to have found a path to the president on a subject that has been paramount for her community.
The fruitful meeting comes after Trump lobbed insults at the mayor at a news conference earlier this year, where he called her “incompetent” for how she handled last year’s wildfire recovery efforts. He alleged that under Bass’ leadership, the city’s delay in issuing local building permits will take years when it should have taken “two or three days.”
California officials, including Newsom, have urged the Trump administration to send Congress a formal request for the $33.9 billion in recovery aid needed to rebuild homes, schools, utilities and other critical infrastructure destroyed or damaged when the fires tore through neighborhoods more than 15 months ago.
What Bass and Barger’s meeting with the president ultimately produces remains to be seen.
The billions in recovery aid have not yet materialized, but the meeting could potentially give those discussions new momentum.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment about the meeting.
Earlier this month, Trump criticized insurance provider State Farm on Truth Social for its handling of the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires. He accused the insurance giant of abandoning its policyholders when tragedy struck.
“It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!” Trump wrote.
But the rebuke didn’t come out of the blue. It stemmed from a controversial February visit to Los Angeles by Trump administration officials.
Trump tapped Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in an effort to strip California state and local governments of their authority to permit the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Within the week, Zeldin was in Los Angeles, bashing Newsom and Los Angeles officials at a roundtable with fire victims and reporters, saying that residents were suffering from “bureaucratic, red tape delays and incompetency” and that leadership was “denying them … the ability to rebuild their lives”.
During the trip, officials heard direct complaints from local leaders and fire victims about insurers being slow, restrictive and insufficient with their claim payouts.
After these meetings, Trump directed Zeldin to investigate the insurers’ responses. State Farm, facing roughly $7 billion in fire-related claims, is also under formal investigation by California’s insurance commissioner over its handling of the crisis.
Despite tensions with the administration, Bass and Barger appeared confident that progress was being made on the insurance and funding issues.
“Our job is to fight for our communities,” their joint statement concluded. “When it comes to this recovery, our federal partners are essential, and we are grateful for the support of the President.”
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