Gavin Newsom Rejecting Immigrant Loan Bill Sparks Conservative Theory

Some conservatives raised questions Friday after California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have expanded his state’s first-time home-buying assistance program to include undocumented immigrants.
The bill, Assembly Bill 1840, was passed by California’s legislature late last month, although Republican lawmakers widely criticized the measure. If passed, AB 1840 would have expanded the eligibility requirements for the California Dream for All Shared Appreciation program, which provides residents up to 20 percent in down payment help when purchasing a home for the first time.
The program, created last year, is extremely competitive, and opponents of AB 1840 argued that state lawmakers should prioritize home-buying loans for legal citizens. Newsom said in his letter to the California State Assembly on Friday that he was vetoing the measure over funding issues.
“Given the finite funding available for CalHFA [California Housing Finance Agency] programs, expanding program eligibility must be carefully considered within the broader context of the annual state budget to ensure we manage our resources effectively,” the governor said.
Some conservatives questioned Newsom’s reasoning behind the veto, given the governor’s support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House in November. Immigration has polled as a core issue among voters this election cycle, and former President Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to tie Harris to California’s immigration policies, where the vice president served two terms as attorney general.
“Make no mistake, Gavin Newsom is okay with this program,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Friday afternoon in reaction to Newsom’s veto of AB 1840.
“What he’s not okay with is having this insanity tied to fellow California radical Kamala Harris while she’s running for president,” Kirk added, who has campaigned on behalf of Trump. “He knows this policy is wildly unpopular with 85% of the country. This was a Presidential Election political calculation, not some sudden burst of moderation from Newsom.”
Nick Sortor, an independent journalist who regularly appears on right-wing news outlets, also wrote to his X account that Newsom “ABSOLUTELY supports” AB 1840, “but he knows it would be a massive political liability for him when he runs for President.”
“He’ll find a way to make it happen regardless. You just won’t be hearing about it from the media,” Sortor added.
When reached for comment, Newsom’s office directed Newsweek to the governor’s veto message on AB 1840.
It’s unclear how unpopular AB 1840 was with voters in California, but polling from the Public Policy Institute of California found that most residents—69 percent—believe immigration is “a good thing” for the U.S. as a whole. The same survey, released in January, found that 80 percent of Californians are also in favor of providing additional citizenship pathways for undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements.
More voters nationwide have said that they trust Trump over Harris to address immigration issues, although polling released earlier this week showed that the vice president made inroads on the key issue. In a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Tuesday, Trump led Harris 50.2 percent to 46.5 percent on immigration. The results showed a substantial improvement for Democrats. The same poll in July found that Trump was leading by 13.2 percent on immigration while President Joe Biden was still in the race.
Update 09/06/24, 6:31 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office.