No word on new tax law from president
Governor, Trump spoke on phone on day of signing
COLFAX, Placer County — President Trump has yet to weigh in on a new California law designed to force him to release his tax returns — and if Gov. Gavin Newsom knows how the president really feels, he’s not sharing.
At an event Wednesday in Colfax promoting wildfire mitigation efforts, Newsom said he spoke with Trump by phone on Tuesday, the same day the governor signed a bill blocking presidential and gubernatorial candidates from the California primary ballot if they do not release five years of income tax returns.
Although it applies to candidates from all parties, the law is aimed squarely at compelling the release of Trump’s taxes. The president has broken with four decades of political precedent by refusing to disclose his tax filings publicly.
Newsom declined twice Wednesday to say whether he discussed the taxreturn law with the president. It was the second time in 10 days they talked, the governor said.
“Know that we’re continuing to engage, which is important,” he said. “Always maintaining the relationship.”
Newsom, who ran on a platform of resistance to the Trump administration, has had a rocky connection with the president. While they traded personal insults on multiple occasions, Newsom and Trump have also pledged cooperation during emergencies, such as the recent earthquakes in Southern California.
The White House did not respond to questions about the nature of Tuesday’s phone call. A source familiar with Trump’s schedule confirmed that the call took place, but declined to elaborate on the details.
A Trump campaign spokesman on Tuesday called the law unconstitutional, and his personal lawyer promised a legal challenge. But the president himself has remained silent on the matter. Wednesday on Twitter, he touched on CNN anchor Don Lemon, the Navy prosecution of SEAL Eddie Gallagher, drug prices, socialism, interest rates and the “Russian hoax,” but had nothing to offer about California’s law.
Before signing an executive order in Colfax adding nearly 400 seasonal firefighters to the state force in anticipation of wildfire season, Newsom called on the Trump administration to do more to clean up federally managed lands, which make up more than half of California forests.
“We need a more robust commitment,” he said. “They seem to be running more money on everything except this, which is remarkable.”
Newsom said he did not expect that signing the taxreturn bill would complicate California’s efforts to secure federal support for forestclearing and other wildfire preparation and prevention work.
“Let’s have a broader perspective on this relationship,” the governor said. He noted that Attorney General Xavier Becerra had sued the Trump administration more than 40 times already before Newsom took office in January.
“It predates me,” Newsom said, “and I’m trying to do my best to engage and continue to, including two conversations with the president in the last 10 days.”
He added that he believes a deal reached with four major automakers last week on greenhouse gas emissions, undercutting Trump’s efforts to roll back higher national fuel efficiency standards, would cause California bigger problems with the president. “That was a very significant rebuke of the administration,” Newsom said. Chronicle Washington correspondent Tal Kopan contributed to this report.