Democrats running for California governor backed shutting down the federal government if their party can’t extract health care concessions from Republicans, while promising at a forum Sunday to continue their state’s sparring with the Trump administration long after Gavin Newsom leaves office.
Asked if they would support a shutdown, Katie Porter, Antonio Villaraigosa and Betty Yee all said, “Yes,” Xavier Becerra said “of course,” and Tony Thurmond agreed: “damn straight.” The unanimity among Democrats served as the latest illustration that, if there ever was a time where the majority party in the country’s biggest, and one of its bluest states, was keen on dialing back and working with the Trump administration, that time has long since passed.
The remarks ahead of congressional leaders’ meeting with Donald Trump on the federal budget Monday added to calls from Democrats on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to not bend as the Senate minority did earlier this year — helping Republicans get a spending bill across the finish line. They also suggested the pugilistic approach to Trump’s Washington that Democrats are likely to maintain here after Newsom, a likely presidential contender, leaves office in 2027.
“We will not bend a knee to Donald Trump,” said Becerra, the former Health and Human Services secretary.
Democrats in the shutdown talks in Washington are pressing Republicans to extend health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. The hit could be especially hard in California, where health care regulators are bracing for insurance costs to spike if subsidies aren’t renewed.
At Sunday’s forum in Los Angeles, hosted by the National Union of Healthcare Workers and moderated by Lisa Matthews of the Associated Press alongside POLITICO’s Melanie Mason and other journalists, candidates suggested they could go even further than Newsom on health care, broadly supporting universal health care for undocumented Californians — a service that Newsom and legislative Democrats grudgingly scaled back this year amid a budget deficit.
Porter, the former House member, said she supports providing Medicaid to “every single Californian, regardless of their immigration status.” Yee, a former state controller, said she backed such services for undocumented patients, and Becerra vowed he’d usher in a “system that gets to universal coverage for every Californian,” regardless of citizenship.
Spokespeople for Newsom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.