A California Democrat is calling out Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of the state’s spiraling homeless crisis after the governor’s alleged request to use federal taxpayer dollars to cover housing costs.
Newsom reportedly asked the Biden administration to fund a “transitional rent” program that would “provide up to six months of rent or temporary housing for low income enrollees who rely on the state’s health care safety net,” according to the Los Angeles Times.Â
Former Democratic leader of the California State Senate Gloria Romeo slammed Newsom’s federal funding request during “Fox & Friends First.”
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“I live in California, but this is not right,” Romero told Ashley Strohmier on Wednesday. “It’s not fair to anybody across the nation to bail out the failures here in California. But the truth is, is that Newsom is a very political animal. He’s still considering the presidency. Does he have something over Biden that he is saying, ‘Look, bro… go ahead and bail us out, and I won’t run against you. There’s probably a lot of back talk going on.'”
According to the L.A. Times report, Newsom has been pushing for homeless to be able to use the state’s public health care program, Medi-Cal, to fund housing subsidies to help mitigate the housing crisis.
But Romero called the move to obtain federal assistance a “bailout,” accusing Newsom of not tackling the root causes of the issue –  a lack of resources to battle addiction and mental health struggles.Â
“Make no doubt about it, this is a bailout,” Romero said. “The reality is, is that California, under the leadership of Governor Newsom, leads the nation in homelessness, and it’s spiraling out of control with his lack of focus on increasing crime, drug addiction and the failure to provide for mental health services.”
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“So this is just a backdoor way to try to get…
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