Politics
Newsom celebrates political victory on gas price spike bill, but concerns remain about policy
At a campaign rally in the Coachella Valley, former President Trump on Saturday called out California’s cost of living and nation-leading gas prices as an example of Vice President Kamala Harris and other “radical Democrats” destroying the state.
“Today California has the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations,” he said. “We’re not going to let Kamala Harris do to America what she did to California.”
Two days later at the state Capitol, Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the passage of a new state law that could lower gasoline price spikes by giving regulators the authority to require that California oil refiners store more inventory.
Newsom and Democratic lawmakers cast the bill as a solution to high gas prices. With less than three weeks until the Nov. 5 election, affordability has become a major political issue and a potential vulnerability for Harris’ presidential campaign.
“It’s about time we stood up,” Newsom said after he signed the bill on Monday. “This is the fourth largest market in the world. This is a big damn deal.”
The newly passed law gives Newsom a win in his political battle with the oil industry, but whether Harris or other Democratic candidates will benefit from the governor’s victory remains unclear.
Newsom’s law will not immediately lower the cost of gasoline in California. While experts say it could ultimately offer reductions of future price spikes, regulators will have to complete a thorough review process to enact the new controls.
Governors in Arizona and Nevada wrote letters warning that the legislation could drive up costs for their constituents, potentially bolstering concerns in pivotal swing states about California’s policies.
Newsom called lawmakers back to Sacramento for a special session to pass the policy. At the same time, however, his administration is expected to adopt stricter limits on carbon fuels that could drive up per-gallon costs by almost half a dollar or more just days after the election.
The governor declined to answer a question at a news conference about whether he thought the new law would affect Democrats in the election, arguing that the effort wasn’t about politics. In a video posted to social media minutes before he signed the bill into law on Monday, Newsom accused the industry of being in “cahoots” with Trump by intentionally pushing prices higher to scare voters during election season.
Opponents have cast his push to address gas prices as an example of “political theatrics.”
“This is politics, not policy,” said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, chief executive of the Western States Petroleum Assn. “This is a show. This is anything but good policy.”
Newsom and the petroleum trade group have been locked in a political battle over gas prices since the summer of 2022. The governor ran ads in Florida calling out Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conservative policies, which prompted a response from the petroleum group blaming Newsom for California’s highest-in-the-nation gas prices.
Since then the governor has repeatedly accused the industry of intentionally gouging consumers.
His administration has pointed out that prices spike when refineries experience unplanned maintenance problems with their equipment, which limits the amount of gasoline available in the state and drives up prices. Requiring the refineries to increase fuel reserves, his administration says, will help prevent those shortages.
Reheis-Boyd has argued that requiring refineries to store more gasoline will increase costs for the companies and drive up prices at the pump. The industry contends that California’s nation-leading gasoline costs are a supply and demand problem in a state that has adopted environmental policies to limit oil drilling and production.
The cheapest way to lower gas prices is to allow oil companies to increase crude oil production in California and rely less on supply from overseas, Reheis-Boyd said.
The state should be working closely with California’s small number of refineries to ensure the state has enough gasoline, instead of adopting new regulations that restrict profits and pushing the companies out of business, she said.
“We have a governor who isn’t interested in the conversation,” Reheis-Boyd said. “He’s the only governor I’ve never met with, because he won’t meet.”
This year marks the second time in two years that Newsom has pushed lawmakers to adopt new oil regulations, an issue that divides Democrats as they navigate desires to fight climate change and lower gas prices.
In 2023, lawmakers balked at passing Newsom’s proposal to penalize oil companies that earn excessive profits. Instead lawmakers adopted new oversight of the industry and gave regulators the ability to cap profits through a rule-making process that has yet to result in any new restrictions.
Democrats in the Legislature were reluctant to pass Newsom’s new oil bill again this year.
Two weeks before the regular session concluded at the end of August, Newsom announced a proposal to require that petroleum refiners maintain a stable inventory in order to prevent fuel shortages and price spikes when refinery equipment is taken offline for maintenance.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) refused to take up the bill for a floor vote at the end of session, arguing that his caucus did not want to rush legislation through without properly vetting the policy. He agreed to work on the proposal in a special session.
Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) took the opposite approach. His caucus was ready to pass the bill at the end of session, he said, and he initially refused to participate in a special session before giving in to the governor’s demands.
During the special session, the Assembly held a series of hearings before passing the bill earlier this month. The Senate quickly signed off on the proposal the following week.
While some liberal Democrats quietly fumed as the governor forced them to vote on another one of his political proposals, many felt the policy could ultimately reduce price spikes that hurt consumers.
“The data is clear: Price spikes happen when refineries fail to plan for supply during scheduled maintenance,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara). “This bill will hold oil companies accountable for resupply plans when refineries’ shutdowns occur, ultimately saving Californians billions at the pump.”
Several Democratic legislators competing for swing-district seats in November did not vote, or opposed the bill.
State Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), who declined to vote on the proposal, said he supported the goal to address the problem of high gas prices in the state but did not agree with the approach. Min is locked in a tight race for Congress against Republican Scott Baugh in Orange County.
Min said opponents to Newsom’s proposal “raised serious concerns” about whether it would be effective in lowering gas prices or even be counterproductive.
“These concerns deserve a fair and full vetting, which is difficult to do in a special session conducted just weeks before many of the current legislators will be leaving office,” Min said in a statement.
Republicans said Democrats would reduce gas taxes if they were serious about the problem of affordability.
“So, who’s making the money?” asked state Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber). “Who’s gouging Californians for every gallon of gas? It’s the government. $1.42 for every single gallon of gas goes to taxes, whether it’s state, local or federal.”
Opposition to the proposal from labor unions representing workers in the industry added to the pressures on Democrats.
Tom Baca, the international vice president for western states of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, said giving regulators control over maintenance schedules, instead of relying on the insight of the workers with deep knowledge of the equipment, could put his members in dangerous conditions if work is delayed.
David Sikorski, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12, called the special session “unnecessary.”
His union represents 21,000 workers in California, Arizona and Nevada. He said Newsom’s policy could prove to be a liability to Harris in the neighboring swing states of Arizona and Nevada.
“We’ve made some real momentum, hit the ground running in Arizona, and we put a lot of resources into getting friendly politicians, and Kamala Harris, elected in that state,” he said. “This is just one more hurdle that we have to overcome with our membership and working people in general.”
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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