UPDATED with Newsom comments: California Governor Gavin Newsom reemerged as a prominent opposition voice to Donald Trump, as he blasted the president’s tariff policy as one that is leading to “crony capitalism” and “toxic uncertainty.”
Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta appeared at a central valley farm to announce the state’s lawsuit challenging Trump’s authority to impose the tariffs, something that the governor earlier said amounted to “one of the largest tax increases in history.”
The lawsuit was this morning in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. You can read it here.
The state claims that the authority to impose the tariffs rests with Congress, not the president, even though Trump triggered the International Emergency Powers Act to set the duties.
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“No rationale, no plan, no conscience to what it’s doing to real people, no consideration of congressional responsibility,” Newsom said. “Where the hell is Speaker [Mike] Johnson? Do you your job. They’re sitting there passively as this guy wrecks the economy of the United States of America.”
Trump imposed 10% baseline tariffs across the globe, and a 145% tariff on Chinese imports. That has set off a trade war with Beijing, which has responded with a series of its own measures. That includes a rollback in the number of U.S. film releases allowed in the country each year.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the state says, “As the fifth largest economy in the world, the State of California, along with its residents and small businesses, is directly harmed by the tariffs,” the state lawsuit stated. “All will face higher costs due to the 10% universal tariffs now in effect on virtually all imported goods and the substantial additional tariffs imposed on Chinese, Mexican, and Canadian goods, with even higher costs threatened by the still-looming reciprocal tariffs. And certain industries and businesses, including agriculture and entertainment, now face retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and threatened by other countries.”
Mexico, Canada and China were the state’s top export markets in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. China was the top import market.
Newsom said that the tariffs already have had an impact on the state, and his May budget will “reflect the downgrade in the economic outlook.”
Although Newsom acknowledged that Trump has been consistent in his embrace of tariffs or decades, he chided the president for the rollout of the policy, with rates and other measures shifting, and criticized the ability of corporations and industries to get waivers as “crony capitalism.”
Newsom said that “the only certainty we have is uncertainty, that literally on a whim, day to day, hour to hour, phone call from a donor to a phone call from another donor, that there will a waiver, there will be an exception,” Newsom said. “From free capitalism to crony capitalism just like that. Corruption? This is the personification of corruption.”
In Trump’s initial months in office, Newsom has generally kept a lower profile when it comes to challenging the president, as the state has sought federal government help in the recovery from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. In his first weeks in office, Trump visited the state to survey the devastation, and Newsom greeted him at the airport for what appeared to be a genial conversation. It’s expected that an additional federal emergency relief appropriation will need congressional approval, given the scale of the devastation in the Palisades and Altadena.
Newsom told reporters that when it comes to that aid, “we would expect to be treated fairly.” “I say this as a donor state that doesn’t even get back all the money that we provide the federal government. I’m proud to have the backs of states that are struggling. I’m proud to have the back of Speaker Johnson’s state when they were struggling because of the hurricanes.”
He noted that with 75% of lumber that the U.S. imports coming from Canada, the cost of rebuilding already has risen because of the tariffs.
The governor also highlighted getting his own calls from foreign officials to talk of the tariffs, as Trump has boasted of getting flooded with requests from international leaders to do deals to resolve their own situations. Newsom said that he has had meetings with the German and UK ambassadors, as well as the premier of British Columbia, and private conversations with others.
He said that they are “making the case that California is not this administration in terms of policy.” He said that he recognized that he had “no authority in terms of international trade,” but said that it was a matter of maintaining relationships.
Trump has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
The post Gavin Newsom Blasts Trump’s “Crony Capitalism” And “Toxic Uncertainty” As California Governor Unveils Lawsuit Challenging Tariffs — Update appeared first on Deadline.
