Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is trying to push back on the notion that California is rife with fraud and financial waste. Now would be a bad time to revisit the state’s precarious budget position heading into the new year.
Newsom is on the defensive after the blooming Minnesota fraud scandal has turned eyes toward California. Even Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is now pushing for a “full independent audit of California’s budget,” getting himself into a back-and-forth feud with Newsom’s obnoxious social media team on X in the process. The talking point from Newsom’s team is that there is no scandal behind the curtain; “The Governor takes fraud seriously,” Newsom’s team says.
But how true is that? There is obviously waste, as evidenced by California plunging itself into a budget deficit year after year. Newsom started 2025 with a planned surplus of a relatively meager $363 million. By May, that became an estimated deficit of $12 billion, thanks in part to Newsom’s shoddy accounting when it came to giving “free” taxpayer-funded healthcare to all illegal immigrants in the state. Now, the state’s budget deficit is up to a projected $18 billion, as the state outspends the tax revenue produced by California’s artificial intelligence boom…