Newsom wants to claw back Trump fund cash as California burns billions on rail and other boondoggles

By Fox News · Fox News

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a 100% tax on Californians who receive money from President Donald Trump’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund, a move that comes as critics accuse Newsom of running "slush funds" of his own. "Anyone from California that receives any of those funds," Newsom said at a Wednesday news conference. "We want to tax 100% of those proceeds and that's an action the state of California can take. It's an action we look forward to taking." Newsom’s staunch opposition to the newly created $1.78 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which supporters describe as nonpartisan, comes as he is widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender. Critics have dubbed the fund a "boondoggle" created to line the pockets of Trump's allies. APOLOGIES AND CASH HEADED TO ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ VICTIMS IN BILLION-DOLLAR TRUMP SETTLEMENT The chief complaint from Newsom and other Democrats is that the fund could be used to compensate people convicted or indicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 rioters. "He pardoned all of those folks that were beating up cops and absolved them, providing them 1.776 billion dollars. So not only do you get a pardon, you get rewarded," Newsom wrote on X. "That’s why this is needed." But Newsom’s criticism of Trump’s fund has also drawn accusations of hypocrisy from Republicans and conservative critics on social media, who have long accused the California governor of overseeing politically connected spending programs and "slush funds" of his own. Among the programs that faced scrutiny was a $25 million California legal fund created to combat what Newsom described as "legal warfare" from the Trump administration. California Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones later deemed the fund a "slush fund." Newsom also faced scrutiny during California’s 2021 recall campaign over the state’s use of no-bid COVID-19…