Gavin Newsom’s last budget belies his ‘California for All’ pledge

Yet, even as the state is poised to lose billions in federal funding, and millions of Californians are losing access to health care and food assistance, the governor wants the state to continue spending billions on corporate tax breaks.

By Chris Hoene, Cal Matters

California has built a reputation as a bulwark against President Donald Trump’s agenda. But when it comes to the state budget — California’s most powerful tool for change — that resistance fades.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2026-27 budget proposal includes no investments to protect Californians from federal cuts and continued threats.

Federal policymakers have slashed health care, food assistance and other basic supports to pay for ICE’s supercharged budget, as well as tax cuts for the richest households and the most profitable corporations.

So far, California’s budgetary response has been cautious, constrained, and unremarkable.

When Newsom took office in 2019, he framed his vision as a “California for All,” that would ensure families could meet basic needs like housing, food and health care. That promise now collides with a budget proposal that fails to match the vision with meaningful solutions.

Today, families across the state are facing increased housing costs, food insecurity, threats to health care and ongoing risks to their well-being. Recent cuts enacted through Trump’s signature megabill, H.R. 1, will deepen these challenges and increase poverty as the cuts take effect.

The stakes are not abstract. Federal cuts to Medi-Cal could leave up to 2 million Californians without health coverage and cost the state tens of billions of dollars in federal funding each year.

Cuts to SNAP could cost California $2.3 billion to $5.1 billion annually and put more than 3 million households at risk of losing some of their food assistance.

California continues to have the highest poverty rate in the nation, tied only with Louisiana. It’s time for the governor and the Legislature to seriously consider common-sense solutions to raise the revenues needed to meet the needs of all Californians.