California’s Governor Gavin Newsom took to Instagram this week with his trademark smirk and a warning shot at Washington: maybe California should withhold resources from the feds. His boast rested on a well-worn talking point—that California pays more into the federal treasury than it gets back. Newsom postured as if this made him the master of the federal purse. In his mind, California can flip the switch and bring Washington to its knees.
But peel back the slick delivery, and you find bluster as empty as the boarded-up storefronts of San Francisco. Yes, California’s taxpayers send more money to Washington than the state receives in federal spending. So do other states with large economies, like New York and New Jersey. That imbalance has existed for decades. But the claim that California can simply “withhold” those funds is constitutional nonsense. The Sixteenth Amendment provides for the collection of federal income taxes, not state discretion. Sacramento cannot hijack IRS collections. Newsom knows this. He also knows most viewers of his reel don’t.
What California can do—and too often does—is obstruct cooperation with the federal government. By declaring California a “sanctuary state,” Newsom has already limited law enforcement collaboration on immigration and terrorism. In 2017, California withdrew from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, depriving local police of coordination with anti-terror specialists. That wasn’t about protecting civil liberties; it was about virtue-signaling to the far left. The cost was public safety.
Newsom’s record at home makes the idea of him “teaching lessons” laughable. California once housed corporate giants by the dozens. Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, and hundreds of mid-sized firms have moved to Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. Why? Punitive taxes, suffocating regulation, and skyrocketing costs of living. The state bleeds talent and jobs because Newsom’s government views private enterprise as a piggy bank.
Recommended
Walk the streets of Los Angeles or San Francisco and you’ll find tents, open drug use, and human waste on sidewalks. Billions have been spent on “solutions,” yet the problem worsens each year. California’s urban centers now double as cautionary tales of progressive policy. Newsom famously locked down his citizens—shutting businesses, schools, and churches—while breaking his own rules for fine-dining at the French Laundry. He forced Californians to comply with “standards” he never followed himself. Worse, he embraced Anthony Fauci’s shifting advice as gospel, demanding masks long after evidence discredited their effectiveness.
Despite its size and wealth, California can’t even keep the lights on. Rolling blackouts are now a way of life. Newsom insists on racing toward “green” goals, banning gas cars by 2035, while Californians already pay the nation’s highest gas prices and some of its highest utility rates. This is the résumé of the man claiming he can flex fiscal power against the federal government.
Contrast Newsom’s record with states like Florida and Texas—two destinations for the millions fleeing California. In the past few years, more than half a million Californians have relocated, voting with their feet against high taxes, rampant crime, and eroding freedoms. The U-Haul index doesn’t lie: California residents are desperate to leave, while red states are overwhelmed by inbound demand. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis famously cleaned Newsom’s clock in their televised debate, hammering him on crime, education, and economic freedom. The numbers were not on Gavin’s side. Californians endure higher poverty rates than Floridians despite higher taxes and supposedly greater “investment.” Businesses and families simply thrive better elsewhere.
So why does Gavin Newsom posture with threats he cannot deliver? Because bluster is all he has left. His presidential ambitions, once floated eagerly by the media, withered in the spotlight. Democrats didn’t see a charismatic alternative to Biden; they saw a West Coast politician presiding over dysfunction. The Instagram reels are attempts at relevance, a digital smirk to reassure himself he still matters.
But Californians see through it. They see their paychecks devoured by Sacramento’s insatiable appetite. They see their streets unsafe, their kids’ schools failing, their bills rising. They see a governor more concerned with attacking Trump than fixing the Golden State.
Newsom’s talk of withholding funds is the epitome of “limpy bluster”—loud enough to sound tough, empty enough to reveal impotence. California cannot bully Washington into submission, and Gavin Newsom cannot escape the wreckage his policies have created. The governor should spend less time posturing on Instagram and more time picking up the pieces of the state he has broken. Until then, Californians will keep leaving, corporations will keep fleeing, and Newsom will keep smirking for the cameras, hoping no one notices the truth: his threats carry no weight, his record carries no pride, and his state carries the burden of his failures.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
Help us continue to report on President Trump's successes. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member