Inside California Politics: May 3, 2025
Political reporter Eytan Wallace goes in-depth on the bill and the response from the Democratic leadership.
Political strategists Ed Emerson and Tim Rosales talk about AB379 and former Vice President Kamala Harris's speech in San Francisco earlier this week.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
14 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Speaker Mike Johnson Called Our Donald Trump Over The Epstein Files
Hot Topic 🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Politics After standing by President Donald Trump on everything from deploying Marines to quell protests to ramping up deportations, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is finally breaking with him... over the Jeffrey Epstein files. In an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson on Tuesday, the speaker called for 'transparency' regarding the Epstein investigation, adding that 'we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.' His statements come over a week after the Justice Department and FBI said they wouldn't be releasing any additional files about Epstein after concluding that there wasn't evidence the disgraced financier kept a so-called 'client list' to blackmail influential figures or that he had died by means other than suicide. In a post this past weekend, Trump doubled down on this stance, defending Attorney General Pam Bondi and calling for his followers to move on. On Tuesday, he softened his position somewhat, stating that Bondi should 'release whatever she thinks is credible.' Johnson, who also stated that he trusts Trump, has 'never broken so publicly with the president on an issue,' writes the Washington Post's Marianna Sotomayor. 'I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out here,' Johnson said, noting that Bondi should explain what she meant when she once referenced having the Epstein client list on her desk. 'She needs to come forward and explain that to everybody,' Johnson said. (White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said that Bondi was referencing the 'entirety of all the paperwork' related to the Epstein case.) The speaker's position points to blowback Trump and his administration have received from his base over the handling of the Epstein files, and highlights how Republican lawmakers are trying to acknowledge the uproar while still backing the president. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on Tuesday called for the appointment of a special counsel to uncover the 'truth about the Epstein Files,' tagging former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who previously resigned from Congress as the House was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Johnson and other House Republicans were also widely criticized Tuesday for claiming to want transparency about the Epstein files, but stymying a Democratic effort to push for their release. On Tuesday, Republicans blocked a vote on a measure from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), which would have forced the release of documents related to the DOJ's Epstein investigation. 'Republicans spent years screaming for the Epstein Files to be released. Now Donald Trump wants to hide them. Today, every R can vote to release the files. Will they give the American people transparency or block the truth to protect Trump?' Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) wrote on X. — Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) July 15, 2025 @danielsgoldman/X / Via Twitter: @danielsgoldman
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Hogg calls some criticism of Mamdani ‘racist'
Progressive activist David Hogg defended Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, at the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday. 'A lot of stuff that I think is very, you know, racist,' Hogg said of some criticisms of Mamdani, pausing before the last word. 'A lot of times it wasn't even focused on his actual policy, it was more focused on him and his identity.' Mamdani, who would be New York City's first Muslim mayor, has taken considerable fire for his criticisms of Israel, including an interview leading up to the primary in which he declined to condemn the phrase 'globalize the intifada.' He said this week that he would now 'discourage' the use of the phrase. Mamdani was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, where he met with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats. Hogg backed Mamdani in the New York mayoral Democratic Party. He has pressed for changes within the Democratic Party that would give more power to progressives, as well as younger generations of Democrats. Hogg at the Hill Nation Summit said he believed some of his ideas would win out because he would 'out-live' many of those opposed to his ideas.
Boston Globe
14 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Do we really want churches to become more political?
Advertisement Last week, the IRS gave these groups what is widely being viewed as a win, Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian public policy organization, praised the decision, writing on X that the change was ' 'After years of education, agitation, and the efforts of many, churches will now be unshackled from the Johnson Amendment — free to speak biblically on cultural issues and candidates without fear of the IRS,' he Advertisement Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of California questioned the legality of the update while visiting South Carolina churches last week, during a trip that some viewed as an attempt to increase his popularity with the state's voters heading into the 2028 presidential election. 'I don't know if it's healthy — I don't even know it's legal, but it's not surprising,' he 'It's called gaming the system — in every way,' Newsom added. In practice, this pivot is not as sharp of a turn as some proponents of the separation of church and state may believe, because, for better or worse, pastors have used their pulpits to make political stances for decades. This is in part because politicians often make decisions that can positively impact churches — including allowing them to receive federal dollars. In the last presidential election, former vice president Kamala Harris was often well-received at churches across the country, with some pastors sharing their beliefs about the role of the divine in her ascension to the highest political contest in the land. 'You were born to lead a nation,' Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Donald Trump regularly included pastors and Christian nonprofit leaders as a part of his presidential campaigns and has welcomed former church leaders into his administration. But Trump, who was the leading candidate with conservative evangelicals in each of his presidential runs, was never a fan of the amendment and signed an executive order in 2017 directing the Treasury Department to ignore it. More recently, Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to do away with it altogether. Advertisement 'Fundamental American values must extend to everyone, including pastors, social workers, or nonprofit employees and volunteers,' Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma If the bill that Republicans introduced becomes law, voters should expect more religious leaders to use their platforms to advocate for political positions, even beyond those that have dominated cultural conversations in communities of faith over the past few decades. But there are real consequences for that. Sermons on issues ranging from same-sex marriage, the ethics surrounding abortion, immigration rights, and other hot topics have been off-putting for many people who don't want their religious leaders to tell them how to vote. In the current deeply divided political moment, that could matter even more. The overwhelming majority of American adults — about 8 in 10 — do not agree with leaders of religious organizations publicly backing one political candidate over another during elections, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center Advertisement Pastors and the politicians they support should take notice. The economic and financial repercussions of a church becoming more political might be fading away, but the long-term ramifications of candidate endorsements by a community that relies on new and younger members to remain relevant are obvious. Leaning into a controversial practice might curry favor with some of that community's most faithful, but it won't likely change what has long been a high priority for pastors: making new converts.
