Sean Duffy pulled $4 billion from California's rail project after finding zero miles of track in 16 years.
Newsom said nothing about slush funds that day.
Now Trump creates a fund to compensate Americans targeted by a weaponized government – and suddenly Gavin Newsom is the guardian of taxpayer money.
The Man Who Built Boondoggles Is Suddenly Worried About Wasteful Spending
The Anti-Weaponization Fund is a $1.776 billion settlement the DOJ created after Trump dropped his lawsuit against the IRS – the same IRS that had a contractor illegally leak his tax returns to the press.
Trump's family gets no money from it.
They get an apology.
The fund compensates Americans who can prove they were targeted by the weaponized government apparatus Democrats spent years building – the same apparatus that raided Mar-a-Lago, manufactured a Russia hoax, and prosecuted political opponents on command.
Newsom's response was to stand at a podium and promise to seize every dollar that reaches a California resident.
"Anyone from California that receives any of those funds," Newsom said, "we want to tax 100% of those proceeds and that's an action the state of California can take."
https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/2059763379838013900?s=20
This is the same man overseeing what Rep. Kevin Kiley called "the worst public infrastructure disaster in U.S. history."
California's high-speed rail was sold to voters in 2008 for $33 billion, with trains connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco by 2020.
The price tag is now $128 billion.
The completion date doesn't exist.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy terminated $4 billion in federal funding last year after a compliance review found the California High-Speed Rail Authority used misleading ridership projections and blew through deadline after deadline with nothing to show for it.
"Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years," Duffy said.
Newsom's Own Slush Fund History Would Make a Democrat Blush
While Newsom rails against Trump's compensation fund, Republicans are pointing directly at the governor's own record.
Newsom created a $25 million California legal fund to fight Trump's administration.
California Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones called it a "slush fund" the day it was announced.
That's not the worst of it.
During COVID, Newsom signed an emergency order bypassing California's standard competitive bidding requirements – then handed billions to political insiders.
A Kaiser Health News investigation found California awarded billions in emergency contracts to firms with direct ties to Newsom's donors, political allies, and well-connected insiders.
At least 80 contracts went to first-time vendors with no prior state track record.
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2060069580983148743?s=20
California now faces a $2.9 billion budget shortfall heading into 2027.
Newsom's solution is to chase down Trump supporters for their settlement money.
This Is What a 2028 Presidential Audition Looks Like
None of this is about the Anti-Weaponization Fund.
Newsom is already running for president, and every press conference fight with Trump is audition material for a Democrat base that needs a champion after watching Biden collapse.
The problem is that the more Newsom talks about wasteful spending and political slush funds, the more Republicans point at Sacramento.
A $128 billion train that has never moved a single passenger.
Billions in COVID contracts steered to political allies.
A $2.9 billion budget hole he has no plan to fill.
A $25 million legal fund his own colleagues called a slush fund on day one.
That's the record he's bringing into 2028 – and Trump's fund, the one Newsom is screaming about, compensates Americans who can prove a court or a federal agency was weaponized against them.
Republicans can't stop smiling every time Newsom opens his mouth, and after this week, it's easy to understand why.
Sources:
- Elaine Mallon, "Newsom wants to claw back Trump fund cash as California burns billions on rail and other 'boondoggles'," Fox News, May 28, 2026.
- "Justice Department Announces Anti-Weaponization Fund," U.S. Department of Justice, May 18, 2026.
- "Trump admin cuts $4 billion from California high-speed rail project," Fox Business, July 17, 2025.
- Chairman James Comer, "Chairman Comer Investigates California's High-Speed Rail Boondoggle," House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, August 19, 2025.
- Rep. Vince Fong, "537 million more reasons to cancel California's high-speed rail nightmare," February 19, 2026.
