Politics
Newsom sides with Musk in dispute over SpaceX rocket launches
In a legal dispute between Elon Musk and the California Coastal Commission over the number of rockets the billionaire’s company can launch from the coast, Gov. Gavin Newsom has sided with Musk, saying over the weekend, “I’m with Elon.”
The comment by the governor is surprising because Musk, a staunch supporter of former President Trump, has often clashed with Newsom in public disputes over transgender rights, “deepfakes” and other issues that have often descended into crude posts from Musk on social media.
For the record:
2:36 p.m. Oct. 21, 2024An earlier version of this article misstated where Gov. Gavin Newsom was campaigning when he was interviewed by Politico as Northern California. He made his comments in North Carolina.
Newsom made the comments to Politico during an interview as the California governor campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina.
The SpaceX dispute centers around the Coastal Commission’s rejection of the company’s plan to increase the number of rockets it launches from Vandenberg Space Force base near the Santa Barbara coast to 50 a year. The commission, made up of appointed members, is tasked with regulating development of land and protecting the natural resources along the coast.
The commission has most recently agreed for SpaceX to launch up to 36 times a year from Vandenberg. So far this year, the company has launched 34 rockets, with the most recent one occurring Saturday.
Military officials told the commission they expected to submit another request by March to increase the number of SpaceX launches to 100 a year.
The commission‘s members, who for months have been airing concerns about the impact of the rocket launches and sonic booms on the region’s wildlife, also cited Musk’s political influence, his posts on X, and his companies’ labor record as concerns when they voted to reject the plan.
SpaceX sued the agency over the vote, accusing it of “egregiously and unlawfully overreaching its authority.”
In the interview Thursday, Newsom seemed to side with Musk, saying, “Look, I’m not helping the legal case,” he said, adding, “You can’t bring up that explicit level of politics.”
A spokesperson for the Coastal Commission declined to comment.
SpaceX and the commission have clashed for months over the company’s plan to rapidly increase the number of rockets it launches from Vandenberg.
SpaceX is a leading contractor with the Space Force, and military officials have argued that the company’s launches benefit the U.S. government. Because the launches are considered federal activity, the state commission can’t technically stop SpaceX from launching the rockets, but is supposed to come to an agreement with federal officials to mitigate the effects of the launches, called a federal consistency plan.
When it rejected SpaceX’s accelerated launch plan earlier this month, several of the commissioners cited Musk’s political activity and posts on X, which he bought in 2022, as concerns.
“We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” commission Chair Caryl Hart said at the meeting.
Other members cited Musk’s social media posts, spreading false information about the federal government’s response to hurricane victims, as well as his decision to refuse permission for Ukraine, a U.S. ally, to use his satellite internet service, Starlink, to carry out an attack against Russia in 2022.
Some commissioners have also been increasingly looking at whether SpaceX could be forced to apply for launch permits, as is required of a private company, instead of as a federal contractor. The commission has pointed out that 80% to 87% of SpaceX launches don’t carry government payloads, but instead carry Starlink satellites.
A spokesperson for SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.
Federal officials have argued that all rocket launches benefit the U.S. government.
“These are good commissioners,” Newsom told Politico. “But you‘ve got to call balls and strikes. And trust me, I’m not big on the Elon Musk bandwagon right now. So that’s me calling balls and strikes.”
Musk and Newsom have clashed in the past, and Musk has been a vocal critic of California politicians after announcing that burdensome regulations and high taxes are forcing him to move his companies, X and SpaceX, out of California.
In an MSNBC interview, Newsom criticized Musk’s attempts to influence the presidential election, saying Musk was one of “those sucking up to Donald Trump.”
“I’m very concerned about a country where people like Elon Musk, others, that are sucking up to Donald Trump, that will undoubtedly be carved out of regulations,” Newsom said Sunday. “It is an American oligarchy that can be formed here.”
Newsom also blasted Musk’s use of a deepfake political ad that doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris, and signed a law banning such videos.
Musk responded on X to Newsom, posting crude jokes.
Newsom said the commissioners and his team had been working behind the scenes to help reach an agreement with military officials to resolve “legitimate concerns.”
Commissioners had asked the U.S. Air Force to agree to seven conditions that would increase monitoring of the effects of operations on wildlife on and near the base, as well as develop a written plan to mitigate the impact and increased occurrences of sonic booms across the coast.
Military officials had initially rejected several of the provisions in August, but agreed to them during the subsequent meetings.
However, the governor said he was concerned that the discussion veered away from the issues surrounding the launches.
“They certainly could have said, ‘We are just not comfortable with [the proposal] right now,’” he said. “But that wasn’t what they said.”
Politics
Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows
new video loaded: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows
transcript
transcript
Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.
-
“I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.” “All right, so this is Quality Learing Center — meant to say Quality ‘Learning’ Center.” “Right now we have around 56 kids enrolled. If the children are not here, we mark absence.”
By Shawn Paik
January 6, 2026
Politics
Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A San Francisco Democrat demanded the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of carrying out a “coup” against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, seen as the likely congressional successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wiener has frequently drawn national attention for his progressive positions, including his legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom designating California as a “refuge” for transgender children and remarks at a San Francisco Pride Month event referring to California children as “our kids.”
In a lengthy public statement following the Trump administration’s arrest and extradition of Maduro to New York, Wiener said the move shows the president only cares about “enriching his public donors” and “cares nothing for the human or economic cost of conquering another country.”
KAMALA HARRIS BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO AS ‘UNLAWFUL AND UNWISE’
California State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a rally. (John Sciulli/Getty Images)
“This lawless coup is an invitation for China to invade Taiwan, for Russia to escalate its conquest in Ukraine, and for Netanyahu to expand the destruction of Gaza and annex the West Bank,” said Wiener, who originally hails from South Jersey.
He suggested that the Maduro operation was meant to distract from purportedly slumping poll numbers, the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, and to essentially seize another country’s oil reserves.
“Trump is a total failure,” Wiener said. “By engaging in this reckless act, Trump is also making the entire world less safe … Trump is making clear yet again that, under this regime, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no norms – there is only whatever Trump thinks is best for himself and his cronies at a given moment in time.”
GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’
In response, the White House said the administration’s actions against Maduro were “lawfully executed” and included a federal arrest warrant.”
“While Democrats take twisted stands in support of indicted drug smugglers, President Trump will always stand with victims and families who can finally receive closure thanks to this historic action,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
Supporters of the operation have pushed back on claims of “regime change” – an accusation Wiener also made – pointing to actions by Maduro-aligned courts that barred top opposition leader María Corina Machado from running, even as publicly reported results indicated her proxy, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the vote.
“Trump’s illegal invasion of Venezuela isn’t about drugs, and it isn’t about helping the people of Venezuela or restoring Venezuelan democracy,” Wiener added. “Yes, Maduro is awful, but that’s not what the invasion is about. It’s all about oil and Trump’s collapsing support at home.”
EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CAPTURED MADURO
Around the country, a handful of other Democrats referenced impeachment or impeachable offenses, but did not go as far as Wiener in demanding such proceedings.
Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-Md., who represents otherwise conservative “Mountain Maryland” in the state’s panhandle, said Monday that Democrats should “imminently consider impeachment proceedings,” according to TIME.
McClain-Delaney said Trump acted without constitutionally-prescribed congressional authorization and wrongly voiced “intention to ‘run’ the country.”
SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’
One frequent Trump foil, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cited in a statement that she has called for Trump’s impeachment in the past; blaming Republicans for letting the president “escape accountability.”
“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view,” Waters said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” she said, while appearing to agree with Trump that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and “collaborat[ion] with… terrorists.”
Wiener’s upcoming primary is considered the deciding election in the D+36 district, while a handful of other lesser-known candidates have reportedly either filed FEC paperwork or declared their candidacy, including San Francisco Councilwoman Connie Chan.
Politics
California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress
California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) has died, GOP leadership and President Trump confirmed Tuesday morning.
“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”
LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-generation rice farmer from Oroville and staunch Trump supporter who had represented his Northern California district for the past 12 years. His seat was one of several that was in jeopardy under the state’s redrawn districts approved by voters with Proposition 50.
Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from LaMalfa’s residence at 6:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The congressman was taken to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where he died while undergoing emergency surgery, authorities said.
An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, according to the sheriff’s office.
LaMalfa’s district — which stretches from the northern outskirts of Sacramento, through Redding at the northern end of the Central Valley and Alturas in the state’s northeast corner — is largely rural, and constituents have long said they felt underrepresented in liberal California.
LaMalfa put much of his focus on boosting federal water supplies to farmers, and seeking to reduce environmental restrictions on logging and extraction of other natural resources.
One LaMalfa’s final acts in the U.S. House was to successfully push for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, a long-standing financial aid program for schools surrounded by untaxed federal forest land, whose budgets could not depend upon property taxes, as most public schools do. Despite broad bipartisan support, Congress let it lapse in 2023.
In an interview with The Times as he was walking onto the House floor in mid-December, LaMalfa said he was frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass even a popular bill like that reauthorization.
The Secure Rural Schools Act, he said, was a victim of a Congress in which “it’s still an eternal fight over anything fiscal.” It is “annoying,” LaMalfa said, “how hard it is to get basic things done around here.”
In a statement posted on X, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he considered LaMalfa “a friend and partner” and that the congressman was “deeply committed to his community and constituents, working to make life better for those he represented.”
“Doug’s life was one of great service and he will be deeply missed,” Schiff wrote.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement called LaMalfa a “devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.”
“While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care,” Newsom said.
Flags at the California State Capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in honor of the congressman, according to the governor.
Before his death, LaMalfa was facing a difficult reelection bid to hold his seat. After voters approved Proposition 50 in November — aimed at giving California Democrats more seats in Congress — LaMalfa was drawn into a new district that heavily favored his likely opponent, State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents the state’s northwest coast.
LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines after the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday evening.
Adding to the party’s troubles, Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana, was hospitalized on Tuesday for a car crash described by the White House as serious. While Baird is said to be stable, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, will not be able to rely on his attendance. And he has one additional caucus member – Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has made a habit of voting against the president, bringing their margin for error down effectively to zero.
President Trump, addressing a gathering of GOP House members at the Kennedy Center, addressed the news at the start of his remarks, expressing “tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member” and stating his speech would be made in LaMalfa’s honor.
“He was the leader of the Western caucus – a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water. ‘Release the water!’ he’d scream out. And a true defender of American children.”
“You know, he voted with me 100% of the time,” Trump added.
A native of Oroville, LaMalfa attended Butte College and then earned an ag-business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and the California State Senate from 2010 to 2012. Staunchly conservative, he was an early supporter of Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California, and he also pushed for passage of the Protection of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
While representing California’s 1st District, LaMalfa focused largely on issues affecting rural California and other western states. In 2025, Congressman he was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which focuses on legislation affected rural areas.
-
World1 week agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
News1 week agoFor those who help the poor, 2025 goes down as a year of chaos
-
World1 week agoPodcast: The 2025 EU-US relationship explained simply
-
Business1 week agoInstacart ends AI pricing test that charged shoppers different prices for the same items
-
Business1 week agoApple, Google and others tell some foreign employees to avoid traveling out of the country
-
Technology1 week agoChatGPT’s GPT-5.2 is here, and it feels rushed
-
Politics1 week ago‘Unlucky’ Honduran woman arrested after allegedly running red light and crashing into ICE vehicle