After Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to prosecute threats of violence against public officials, Rep. Eric Swalwell was furious. “This is rich,” Swalwell posted to X on Tuesday. “AG Bondi has REFUSED to prosecute MULTIPLE direct death threats against me and my family.” Swalwell’s post gained traction — so much so that Bondi called him to ask “what I...
Silicon Valley lawmaker wants oversight for National Guard deployment
Responding to recent moves by the White House to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo is leading an effort in Congress to require the president to submit a detailed report whenever such deployments occur. Liccardo has been a persistent critic of President Donald Trump’s decision in June...
California lawmakers torn on Trump ignoring Congress’ TikTok Law
More than a year after Congress passed a law to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or else be banned from U.S. markets, the app is still up and running — and the White House is actively promoting it. The White House’s official TikTok account, created just over two weeks ago, has posted more...
Fired-up Newsom shares his pitch for a Democratic turnaround
An animated Gavin Newsom on Wednesday shared his pitch for how to turn around the Democrats’ brand and better oppose President Donald Trump’s administration, identifying the party’s ailments with a one-word diagnosis. “At the end of the day, to me, the essence of the challenges of the party is weakness,” the California governor told Politico...
Trump chip deal critics say it undercuts U.S. becoming AI leader
Some Democrats are troubled by President Donald Trump’s recent deal to allow two tech companies to sell artificial intelligence chips to China as long as they provide the U.S. government some of the revenue. “I certainly have concerns about what we might call linkage, that is linking revenue to the Treasury to national security decisions,”...
California governor strikes back with new redistricting plan
Gov. Gavin Newsom officially began his push on Thursday for California voters to approve mid-decade redistricting in a special election later this year. Republicans are looking for ways to try to gain seats in Congress in a rare mid-decade redistricting shuffle ahead of the 2026 midterms, and Newsom has been a leading proponent of blue states pushing...
Navy ship to retain San Jose activist Cesar Chavez’s name
The name of San Jose activist Cesar Chavez will stay on a U.S. Navy ship, after a local lawmaker pushed the federal government to continue honoring his name and legacy. An Aug. 1 letter from U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan confirmed the federal government will not rename the USNS Cesar Chavez, a ship...
Trump’s efforts to end homeless camps put Newsom in political bind
As President Donald Trump tries to radically reduce the presence of homeless people on the streets of the District of Columbia, Democrats are grappling with how to respond given their party’s rightward shift on the issue. One of the highest-profile Democrats who has pushed his party in this direction is Gov. Gavin Newsom, who earlier...
Apple’s new iOS update could damage polling industry
Despite getting closer than before in 2024, the public polling industry has consistently underestimated support for President Donald Trump, in part due to more people ignoring unwanted calls and texts from pollsters. And polling is unlikely to get a helping hand from Big Tech: A new feature in Apple’s incoming iPhone operating system could make...
San Jose congressman wants to protect undocumented crime victims
One San Jose lawmaker wants to increase protections for undocumented immigrants who assist law enforcement in investigating crimes committed against them. Congressman Jimmy Panetta, whose district includes South San Jose, has introduced the Immigrant Witness and Victim Protection Act, which would remove a cap for U and T visas. The visas are meant to encourage...