For years, Sacramento politicians have been spending recklessly, raising taxes, and putting special interests ahead of struggling Californians. Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest budget makes things even worse.
But you simply cannot outrun the math. Eventually, the fiscal recklessness of our state politicians will catch up with us—and Californians will be the ones paying the price.
That’s why I was the only member of the State Assembly to vote NO on Newsom’s budget this year—and for good reason.
California’s current state budget isn’t just a collection of bad decisions; it’s a roadmap to fiscal collapse. Newsom’s budget prioritizes welfare handouts for illegal immigrants over essential services for our citizens, uses accounting gimmicks to hide the true size of the deficit, and rewards political allies while slashing core programs voters care about.
Newsom’s expansion of free, taxpayer-funded Medi-Cal health coverage for illegal immigrants is a costly gift of your tax funds to non-citizens that has ballooned from $6.5 billion to $9.5 billion in just one year—and is projected to cost $12.1 billion next year.
To make matters worse, the federal government could penalize California up to $11.2 billion for violating Medicaid rules. That’s $23 billion in potential costs—all while the state quietly scrambles to borrow $3.44 billion to keep Medi-Cal afloat.
If this program collapses, who will suffer first? Seniors, the disabled, and low-income families who depend on Medi-Cal. In other words, the very citizens Newsom should be protecting are being pushed to the back of the line to make room for those who broke our immigration laws. That’s immoral and fiscally suicidal.
The budget’s failures don’t end there.
A Structural Deficit Disguised as “Balanced” This is not just a deficit—it’s a fiscal crisis rivaling the Great Recession. Newsom’s budget uses Enron-style accounting tricks to paper over the hole. Independent analyses suggest the real deficit is far larger than the governor admits.
Runaway Spending and Bloated Bureaucracy: Since Newsom took office in 2019, the state workforce has exploded by more than 20%, with salaries and benefits climbing 42% to an average of $177,000 per employee. Total state spending is up over 60%–yet we have less to show for it than ever before.
Upside-Down Priorities: While cutting wildfire prevention funding and refusing to fully implement Proposition 36—the crime-fighting measure voters overwhelmingly passed in 2024—Newsom is pouring billions into programs for illegal immigrants, doling out tax breaks to Hollywood, and shoveling more money into the failed High-Speed Rail boondoggle.
Higher Costs for Working Families: This budget hits Californians with a payroll tax hike on small businesses, a looming Gas Tax increase, and higher utility costs—all while politicians in Sacramento insulate themselves from the economic pain they cause.
The governor wants you to believe this is all Donald Trump’s fault. That’s absurd. California’s fiscal meltdown is the direct result of Democrat one-party rule, reckless spending, and a refusal to make tough choices.
I’ve put forward a real reform plan—one that fully funds core services, stops waste, fraud, and abuse, and restores fiscal sanity without raising taxes. But instead of debating my plan, Sacramento Democrats tried to silence me. They even removed me from the Assembly Budget Committee because I told the truth.
The truth is that Gavin Newsom’s budget isn’t just a policy disagreement—it’s a moral failure. It tells every hard-working Californian that their tax dollars will be taken to reward lawbreakers, fund political allies, and grow a government that no longer serves them.
We can fix this, but it’s going to take a fight. Together, we can educate voters, flip seats in 2026, and end the fiscal insanity before it bankrupts our state.
California’s future is on the line. It’s time to put citizens first, cut the waste, and hold politicians accountable for the budget scams that are driving us toward disaster. I will keep leading that fight—and with your help, we can win it.