SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom is arguably the luckiest California governor ever. But some of that luck will run out with the Republican takeover of the U.S. House.
Newsom was immensely lucky that fellow Democrats controlled the federal government the last two years. President Joe Biden and Congress showered California with tens of billions in economic aid, enough for the governor to avoid a budget crisis this winter.
It's doubtful the federal largesse would have showed up if Biden had lost to then-President Donald Trump in 2020 and if Democrats hadn't controlled the Senate and House by razor-thin margins.