Brace Yourself: $8 Gas is Coming
California gas prices could skyrocket 75% by 2026 — hitting a jaw-dropping $8.43 per gallon, according to a recent analysis by USC Professor Michael Mische.
Of course, it’s all part of Newsom’s scam to jack up gas prices so high that we’re forced into expensive EVs, whether you can afford one or not.
Two of California’s major refineries are shutting down, eliminating 20% of our in-state gas supply.
That means fuel shortages, higher prices on everything, and thousands of lost jobs. Even worse, our national security is at risk: these refineries provide jet fuel and gasoline to U.S. military facilities, and their closure creates a dangerous vulnerability.
Let’s be clear: Newsom owns this gas crisis.
He’s buried energy producers in red tape, extreme regulations, and high taxes. Now they’re shutting their doors and we’re the ones paying the price.
While Newsom is busy chasing the presidency, Californians are bracing for an economic disaster.
I sent a letter to Newsom urging him to join me and work directly with refineries to stop this crisis.
Newsom’s response?
Over 24 hours later, he’s told his bureaucracy to “look into it.”
Then, he thanked me for highlighting his “Administration’s work on this critical issue.”
Glad he agrees his own policies caused this mess. And he still has no plan to fix it. Read more about our efforts and Newsom’s weak response in Newsweek.
We need real leadership, not lip service.
And let’s be honest: Newsom won’t act unless his presidential ambitions are threatened.
That’s why we’re turning up the pressure and making sure every Californian and American knows Newsom is responsible for $8/gallon gas. If Newsom gets to the White House, he will turn this California crisis into a nationwide nightmare.
Brian W. Jones
Republican Senate Leader
https://www.electbrianjones.
Resistance state: Tracking California’s lawsuits against the new Trump administration
By CalMatters Staff January 21, 2025Updated May 5, 2025
President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders moments after being inaugurated president, and many of them could directly affect California.
These orders include revoking licenses for offshore wind which may shut down proposals off the coast of Humboldt County and Morro Bay, a more aggressive targeting of undocumented immigrants living throughout the state and a strong embrace of fossil fuels which could impact air quality standards, the state’s electric vehicle mandate and funding for green initiatives.
California officials used the courts to defend itself during Trump’s first administration, suing the federal government at least 123 times and winning two out of every three cases. The state’s Democratic leaders began preparing for new cases months before Trump took office by writing briefs and setting aside tens of millions of dollars for expected court fights.
Now, as Trump’s second term gets underway, the state is filing lawsuits at almost double the pace of his first administration. CalMatters is tracking these cases as they are filed:
Fighting for California’s federal EV charger money
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 16 other attorneys general are suing the Trump administration for blocking billions in federal funding for electric vehicle chargers. The funding, approved by Congress, was meant to cut pollution, boost electric car access, and create green jobs. But under Trump’s direction, the Federal Highway Administration is trying to cancel state EV plans and freeze the $5 billion program. California says it could lose more than $300 million and thousands of clean energy jobs.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is leading the lawsuit.
Fighting Trump’s ban on wind energy production
A coalition of 18 attorneys general, including California’s, is suing the Trump administration over its policy on halting the approval of wind energy infrastructure. The suit says 10% of the nation’s electricity comes from renewable wind technology. The figures are similar in California, which has numerous state goals that rely on renewable sources of energy in the next one to two decades. Wind energy development helps toward those goals, the suit says. The suit alleges that the Trump administration violated a law that specifies how agencies are supposed to make federal changes, known as the Administrative Procedure Act.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
Challenging mass layoffs at $2.6 trillion Health and Human Services
California is joining a group of 20 state attorneys general, all Democrats, that is suing the Trump administration for laying off some 20,000 workers at the massive Department of Health and Human Services, a sprawling government apparatus with a budget of $2.6 trillion that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, drug safety, public health, disease detection and federal preschool programming. The suit alleges that the department’s leader, Robert F. Kennedy, plus other senior officials, violated a law passed by Congress that specifies how a department is supposed to make changes to its operations. It also alleges the layoffs and restructuring violate the U.S. Constitution by contravening Congress. The suit says the mass firings — about a quarter of the department’s workforce — prevent the department from implementing existing laws and regulating food and drug makers.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
Attempting to save AmeriCorps from sudden cuts
State of Maryland vs. Corporation for National and Community Service
California is co-leading 23 states whose attorneys general, all Democrats, are suing the Trump administration for reducing the workforce of the nation’s volunteer program, AmeriCorps, by 85%. The staff cuts have resulted in AmeriCorps terminating service grants to 1,031 programs across the country. Like most of these court challenges, the lawsuit argues that the Trump administration violated congressionally approved procedures for changing existing programs and violated the U.S. Constitution. California received $133 million last year in federal support for its volunteer programs that included more than 6,000 volunteers. State funds also contribute to volunteerism in California. AmeriCorps helped to support the humanitarian response to the Los Angeles fires in January. In all, Trump seeks to cut $400 million from the program nationally, or more than 40% of its budget, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a press conference.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is leading the lawsuit.
Challenging a threat to withhold education funding over DEI programs
California is co-leading a lawsuit with 18 other states contesting a U.S. Department of Education threat to withhold funding from schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. California receives $7.9 billion a year in funding from the education department. In the lawsuit, California and other states allege the administration’s policy is unconsitutional because it would contradict spending powers that belong to Congress.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
California sues Trump over tariffs
California is the first state to sue the Trump administration over its tariff policies. The suit, filed by both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, argues that Trump is exceeding the power granted to him in a 1970s law that allows a president to declare an economic emergency. The suit says tariffs aren’t a tool the president can use and that only Congress can approve those taxes on imports. The suit is asking a federal judge in California to block and reverse the tariffs. California is the nation’s largest importer and second-largest exporter. The suit claims the state will lose billions of dollars in economic activity from the tariffs.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is fighting this case solo.
CalMatters coverage:
Newsom takes on Trump over tariffs he says are hurting California
Libraries, museums and more
California is one of 21 states suing over a Trump administration order that abruptly canceled funding to agencies that support libraries, museums, minority-owned businesses and workplace mediation. Those cuts trickled down to states and local communities, including stripping grants from libraries. The Trump administration has said it cut the funding in an effort to cull “bureacracy and bloat.” California and other states counter that the Trump cannot withhold funding that was approved by Congress.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
Fight over billions in health research funding
Massachusetts vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
California is co-leading a lawsuit with 15 other states that alleges the Trump administration illegally canceled billions of dollars of grants for medical and health research organizations. Among many other organizations, the grants funded research at the University of California and the California State University system.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is leading the lawsuit.
Can Trump change the way Californians vote?
California is leading a lawsuit with 18 other states that alleges President Trump issued an unconstitutional executive order on election administration. Trump’s order would require people to show proof of citizenship to vote and it would prohibit states from counting ballots received after election day, among other changes. California and other states contend Trump does not have the power to order those changes because the Constitution gives states and Congress authority over elections.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is leading the lawsuit.
Can Trump claw back billions of dollars in public health grants?
California, the District of Columbia and 22 other states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of more than $11 billion in grants to local and state health agencies. The administration told news agencies the grants originated from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it would “no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic.” California and other states argue that the clawbacks were “arbitrary and capricious,” and that they violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The states further contend that the cuts will cause lasting harm to local public health programs.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is leading the lawsuit.
CalMatters coverage:
Trump clawed back billions in federal health grants. Here’s how much California is losing
Topic: Health Care
Filed: Apr 1, 2025
Is the mass firing of U.S. Dept of Education staff legal?
California is co-leading a coalition of 19 other states and D.C. in suing the Trump administration to reverse the layoffs of nearly half of the staff at the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that the firings prevent the federal agency from fulfilling its duties that were enshrined in laws passed by Congress. The Department of Education funds college loans, special education, grants to high-poverty schools, among other programs. It also collects data about student achievement and enforces civil rights laws on campuses.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is leading the lawsuit.
CalMatters coverage:
California, other states sue to halt massive layoffs at U.S. Department of Education
Is the mass firing of federal probationary employees legal?
California joined 20 states to challenge the mass firing of recently hired or promoted federal employees by the Trump administration. Twenty-one agencies are named in the complaint including the departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, Treasury and Agriculture. The states argue that the agencies have illegally bypassed required procedures when firing federal workers. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, nearly 140,000 federal employees live in California as of September 2024; more than 13,000 have been employed for less than a year, which makes them especially vulnerable to the adminstration’s targeted layoffs.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
Challenging cuts to K-12 teacher preparation grants
California is leading a challenge over the termination of grant funding for K-12 teacher preparation programs. California stands to lose $148 million in funding used to address the state’s teacher shortages, particularly in supporting underserved communities and filling high-need math and science positions. The state argues the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act when terminating the funding.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is leading the lawsuit.
Halting freezes to federal disaster aid to states
California led a coalition of 23 states to force the Trump administration to undo funding freezes for disaster aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Even though a Rhode Island judge blocked the Trump administration’s massive freeezing of $3 trillion in federal grants to states, California and other states still saw millions of dollars in FEMA aid blocked. The suit didn’t provide a total for the amount of aid still blocked.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is leading the lawsuit.
Is Elon Musk’s exercise of power unlawful?
California and 13 other states sued Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency in a D.C. federal court. The coalition argued that the White House granted Musk and his department “unprecedented access” to sensitive government data without Congressional approval. The suit asked a judge to halt Musk and his department’s activities through a temporary restraining order. The judge on the case denied that restraining order on Feb. 18 2025.
This case is currently making its way through the legal system. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
Restricting how much universities collect for ongoing federal research
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. National Institutes of Health
California is joining 21 other states in suing the Trump administration for its plan to slash the “indirect cost rates” that universities receive from the federal government to conduct federally funded health and biomedical research. The suit alleges that the administration is violating federal law and how Congress said the funds should be used.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
CalMatters coverage:
Judge blocks Trump administration’s cuts to key federal research funds
Blocking DOGE from accessing sensitive personal data
Attempting to block the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, from accessing the sensitive personal data of Americans maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, including bank accounts and social security numbers.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
Fighting Trump’s move to freeze all federal grants
The Trump administration on Jan. 27 released a memo that appeared to freeze all federal grants, except money provided directly to beneficiaries. California and other states sued immediately, arguing that the order illegally interfered with funding allocated by Congress and that it jeopardized critical resources for health care, natural disasters and services for children.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
CalMatters coverage:
This would be ‘devastating’: California sues to stop Trump’s chaos-inducing federal funding freeze
Can Trump end birthright citizenship?
One of President Trump’s Day 1 executive orders would revoke the right of guaranteed citizenship to anyone born in the United States. California and 17 other states are suing to block that order, arguing it conflicts with protections in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration while the case is resolved. California is joining others in the lawsuit.
CalMatters coverage:
As President Trump declares a border emergency on Day 1, California’s targeted immigrants lie low
"We're Not Going to Pay." Trump says Cali High-Speed Rail is "the worst cost overrun I've ever seen"
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