What Newsom's Approach To Battling Trump Might Mean For Political Aspirations

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, August 28, 2025…

• California Governor Gavin Newsom is making national waves as he takes on President Donald Trump — on social media and, soon, at the ballot box, with an initiative that would redraw congressional districts to give Democrats more seats in the House of Representatives. What does all this mean for the famously ambitious politician? 
• In a hearing in Sacramento on Wednesday, state lawmakers grilled officials tasked with protecting the health and safety of workers. 
• Family and friends of a Los Angeles teen are demanding answers, after the 18-year-old was moved to an ICE detention center out of state this week.

Governor Newsom Takes Unique Approach In Fight Against Trump Administration

California Governor Gavin Newsom is making national waves as he takes on President Donald Trump — on social media and, soon, at the ballot box, with an initiative that would redraw congressional districts to give Democrats more seats in the House of Representatives. What does all this mean for the famously ambitious politician?

Newsom’s take-no-prisoners style toward Trump in recent months is a marked contrast from his posture at the beginning of the year, when he tried to make nice with the incoming president as Los Angeles was consumed by wildfires. As those blazes burned, the governor’s office struggled to break through the chaotic media environment. But that all changed in June, when the Trump administration sent armed military troops into L.A. over Newsom’s objections.

Since then, Newsom and his staff have taken an increasingly aggressive — and cheeky — tone. He’s not only confronting the president in the media and in court, but recently, mocking his social media posts with parodies that echo Trump’s own language, tone and style. Mike Madrid is a Republican political consultant. “They really learned, we cannot respond with facts and honesty and good information. We have to take the offense. And that’s what you saw to great effect during the ICE raids and continue to see it with sort of the quote unquote trolling that’s going on now where Gavin and his team are completely dominating the narrative,” he said.

And polls indicate it’s working. Since April, Newsom’s approval rating has jumped eight points to 51% in UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies poll. 59% support his more vocal criticisms of Trump, and Democrats are far more enthusiastic about him running for president in 2028 than former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Lawmakers Question Cal/OSHA On Worker Safety

On Wednesday, state lawmakers questioned officials with California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health about a recent scathing audit criticizing the department’s work site inspections.

Auditors found that California’s worker safety agency is under-inspecting workplaces after accidents and worker injuries and failing to enforce labor regulations in a way that “may undermine” them because it does not have enough employees to do the inspections.

During Wednesday’s hearing, East Bay Assemblymember Liz Ortega questioned whether the agency is doing enough to protect workers across the state. “What I really hope my colleagues and the public understand is the severity of Cal/OSHA’s failure to protect workers. Employers who put workers in danger are not being held accountable!” she said.

Last year out of more than 12,000 complaints, the agency found 87% valid; staff inspected just 17% of those workplaces in person rather than investigating “by letter.” Out of 5,800 workplace accidents, the agency deemed 42% serious enough to send an inspector. Cal/OSHA’s chief said the agency is addressing the issues. The auditor plans to follow up next month.

Los Angeles Teen Briefly Transferred To Out Of State Detention Facility

A high school senior from Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley was transferred to an out-of-state immigration detention facility this week, and his family was not notified of that move.

Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz was originally grabbed by immigration agents on August 8, while walking his dog near his home in Van Nuys. The Department of Homeland Security said he was taken into custody for overstaying his visa. He had been held at the Adelanto Detention Facility in San Bernardino County. But late Monday, he was transferred to a facility in Arizona. Congresswoman Luz Rivas has been in touch with Guerrero-Cruz’s family. “I visited the Adelanto Detention Center to demand answers and probe into his unjustified detainment and transfer. (Now) Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz is back in California and closer to his family. The nightmare for him, his family, and thousands in similar situations is not over yet. I will not accept the current reality that ICE shuffles and transfers detainees without notifying their family to inflict psychological pain for all of those involved,” she said in a statement.

Rivas introduced a bill this week that would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to notify families within 24 hours if their loved ones are transferred to other detention facilities. Current law does not require ICE to notify family members when a detainee is transferred. The only instance ICE notifies the family is in the case of death.