Amid a wave of violent rioting in Los Angeles, the conservative group Catholic Vote has published a comprehensive report criticizing California Governor Gavin Newsom’s policies, accusing him of promoting a far-left agenda that targets religious values and traditional family structures. The report, titled The Gavin Newsom Files, outlines what the organization calls Newsom’s “viciously anti-Christian agenda” and questions his efforts to rebrand himself ahead of a possible 2028 presidential run.
The release of the report comes as Newsom, a Democrat, remains in a public dispute with President Donald Trump over the federal response to the recent unrest in Los Angeles. President Trump deployed the National Guard and Marine units to assist local law enforcement, prompting Newsom to denounce the action as both “immoral” and “illegal.” Newsom, who has spent much of his political career aligned with progressive causes, has in recent months attempted to reposition himself closer to the political center.
He recently launched a podcast titled This is Gavin Newsom, which featured conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in an early episode. Despite this apparent shift in tone, Catholic Vote argues that Newsom’s core positions remain unchanged. “Gavin Newsom may be adjusting his style and image. But he remains the same ideologue who has trampled parental rights, championed the transgender mutilation of children, and taken pro-abortion advocacy to a sickening extreme,” the report states.
The report draws attention to several policy moves made by Newsom during his time as governor. It criticizes his use of scripture to support pro-abortion policies, highlighting a 2022 billboard campaign in states such as Oklahoma. One such billboard read, “Need an abortion? California is here to help,” alongside the biblical quote, “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.” The billboard drew condemnation from several religious leaders. The California Catholic Conference labeled it “unconscionable,” and a prominent Protestant pastor called it a “reprehensible act of gross blasphemy.” The Catholic League described the billboard campaign as “demonic,” according to Catholic Vote’s report.
In 2022, Newsom signed legislation making California the first “sanctuary state” for parents seeking transgender medical treatments for their children. The law protects parents from other states from prosecution if they come to California for services such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors. The report states that in 2023, Newsom expanded these efforts further by enacting new penalties on school districts that do not actively promote LGBTQ content.
“He framed this as a matter of ‘families’ having ‘the freedom to decide what’s right for them,’” the report says. A spokesperson for Newsom, Brandon Richards, responded to the Catholic Vote report in comments to Fox News Digital. “We’re not taking seriously any organization co-founded by a political hack who has sworn allegiance to President Trump, called Pope Francis’ papacy a ruse, and justified cutting off U.S. foreign aid for the poor and hungry because he’d read some conspiracy theory about transgender mice experiments,” Richards said.
Richards added, “We encourage Catholic Vote, which does not represent the Catholic Church, to read Leviticus: ‘You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’”
Catholic Vote endorsed President Trump in the 2024 election, and the organization’s founder, Brian Burch, was selected by the administration to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican.
The report also revisits Newsom’s quote from a 2008 interview amid California’s legal battle over same-sex marriage: “As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It’s inevitable.” Catholic Vote cites this statement as a warning of what it sees as the broader national implications of Newsom’s leadership.
“Few figures demonstrate the drift of America’s political Left – away from the Clinton-era language of ‘safe, legal, and rare,’ and toward today’s ‘#ShoutYourAbortion’ attitude – better than Gavin Newsom,” the report says.
Josh Mercer, Vice President of Catholic Vote, told Fox News Digital, “Americans have been shocked by the rioting and chaos in Los Angeles, but sadly, this reckless governance is all too common in Gavin Newsom’s California. As our new report, Newsom Files, points out, the California governor refused to deal with vexing problems like drug dealers, shoplifters and the rampant homeless camps.”
“Instead,” Mercer added, “Gavin Newsom was busy dreaming of the White House and spending taxpayer funds to put up billboards in Oklahoma that quote the Bible and urge people to fly to California to get an abortion. With his wacky priorities, it’s no wonder people are fleeing California in droves.”
The report concludes by warning that Newsom’s policies reflect a broader trend within the American Left that poses a challenge to religious liberty and traditional values.
Read More at LifeZette
