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Political Breakdown

The Backlash to Newsom’s Return-to-Office Mandate and HHS Withholds Medicaid Payments to California 

Newsom’s return-to-office mandate may not help people “fall in love,” but it has created a standoff between the governor and California’s powerful state worker unions.
Marisa LagosGuy Marzorati
A large white building seen from a distance with trees and people around the outside.
 (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requiring state workers to return to office four days a week took effect this month. The governor says it’s about battling a “crisis of loneliness” and wanting people to “develop relationships, friendships, fall in love.” But the mandate has been met with protests and lawsuits, putting him at odds with California’s powerful public employee labor unions. Marisa and Guy talk with CapRadio politics reporter Laura Fitzgerald about why Newsom is picking this fight and how it could affect his political ambitions.

Plus: the Trump administration withholds $867.5 million in Medicaid payments to California, claiming fraud in in-home care and immigrant eligibility. Who does the funding freeze impact and how are state officials responding?

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