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Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White , Lara Korte , Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | THE BUZZ: For the first time in years, Nancy Pelosi won’t be the top Californian in the House. Democratic leadership elections yesterday elevated two Californians who don’t represent San Francisco. Rep. Pete Aguilar of Redlands will be the third-highest-ranking Democrat in the House, serving as caucus chairman, and Los Angeles Rep. Ted Lieu beat out Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell to become vice chair — the first Asian-American in a top-tier House leadership role. But both of them will likely be serving under a House run by a Republican from Bakersfield. Current Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is working to consolidate support for the top job, although the right edge of his caucus i s expected to push for rules changes in a meeting today that could redraw the GOP caucus’s contours of power. McCarthy is continuing to telegraph an agenda heavy on investigations, telling the Jan. 6 panel to preserve its records. | 
Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of Calif., speaks during a news conference, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Washington. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo |
NEW BLOOD: The 2022 cycle didn’t bring quite as much turnover in California’s delegation as we once expected. Every House incumbent on the ballot won re-election as voters chose to stay the course after tens of millions of dollars in spending. Redistricting and a vanished House seat — plus an L.A. mayoral race and a chance to run a promising new social media company — drove only six members to the exits, with other longer-serving incumbents of advanced age deciding to stick around for another term at least.
There will still be fresh faces representing California in Congress: Democrats Rep. Robert Garcia in Long Beach; Rep. Kevin Mullin from the Bay Area peninsula; and Rep. Sydney Kamlager out of Los Angeles. For the GOP, there will be Rep. Kevin Kiley, representing a seat sprawling from the Sacramento suburbs down the eastern spine of the Sierra into the desert. We’re still waiting to see if it’ll be Democrat Adam Gray or Republican John Duarte heading from the Central Valley to Capitol Hill, though Duarte has the lead. The Legislature will see significantly more changes, with dozens of new members joining. Numerous outgoing members bid farewell yesterday during their final days on the job, including by live-tweeting through it . The Assembly in particular will look a lot different after next week’s swearing-in — and, if history’s any guide, it’s likely that some of the members taking their oaths on Monday will eventually end up in Congress. BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Try to stay dry as a major rainstorm soaks northern California today. The precipitation remains badly needed with most of California withering under a severe drought that could see up to a fifth of the state’s water agencies running short on supplies. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte . MEA CULPA: Wednesday’s Playbook incorrectly stated the leader in the AD-47 race. Republican Greg Wallis was ahead of Democrat Christy Holstege by 12 votes. Last night, Holstege took a 21-vote lead. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone. I saw it as a thriving business and I was shocked by what happened this month.” Besieged crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried during a live interview with the New York Times. TWEET OF THE DAY |  Today's Tweet of the Day. | Twitter |
BONUS TOTD
|  Today's Bonus Tweet. | Twitter |
WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
| | | | POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP . | | | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | PENALTY OR TAX? What’s in a name? Potentially a huge vote margin. Gov. Gavin Newsom officially proclaimed a special session yesterday to tackle excessive oil company profits — and we note that his proclamation referred to “a financial penalty on excessive margins,” not a “tax,” with “any penalties collected to be returned to Californians.” That’s not just a semantic distinction. Taxes require two-thirds votes while penalties need a simple majority. That’s the difference between 54 and 41 Assembly votes, or 27 and 21 Senate votes. That could drastically ease the path to passage. — “ Rep. Pete Aguilar, former Redlands mayor, becomes No. 3 Democrat in House leadership ,” by Redlands Daily Facts’ Beau Yarbrough: “Aguilar, the highest-ranking Latino in either major party in Congress, will be working alongside Jeffries, the first Black lawmaker to lead either party. It’s the first time in Congressional history party leadership has not included a White man.” — “ Tenderloin Center Clients Warn of Disaster As Controversial Drug Site Heads for Closure ,” by the San Francisco Standard’s David Sjostedt: “Several clients of the center, who gathered using drugs and bartering stolen items in a corner of United Nations Plaza on Tuesday morning, worried that the facility’s closure could disrupt their ability to acquire housing or other services.” — “ ICE accidentally released the identities of 6,252 immigrants who sought protection in the U.S. ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Hamed Aleaziz: “The agency is investigating the incident and will notify the affected immigrants about the disclosure of their information. The agency has said it will not deport immigrants whose information it mistakenly posted until it is determined whether the disclosure affects their cases.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — NEVER TOO EARLY: Dr. Angelo Farooq is launching his 2024 campaign for the 31st state Senate district currently represented by the terming-out Sen. Richard Roth. Farooq has about $580,000 on hand and rolls out with endorsements from statewide Democrats (and fellow BearStar clients) Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Controller Malia Cohen. The mostly Riverside County SD-31 has a 23-point Democratic registration advantage, making it a prime Dem-on-Dem possibility. — “ Petition Circulators Are Telling California Voters that a Ballot Measure Would Ban New Oil and Gas Wells Near Homes. In Fact, It Would Do the Opposite ,” by Inside Climate News’ Liza Gross: “The canvassers are backed by the oil industry in its quest to stop a new law that bans wells near residential areas and imposes new environmental controls. If petition circulators succeed in gathering enough signatures, the law would be blocked until the 2024 election.” LABOR IN THE LEG — “ Are California ballot measures a ‘parallel legislature’ for wealthy interests? Labor thinks so ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Maya Miller and Mathew Miranda: “The industry’s referendum challenge marks the latest skirmish in what labor leaders describe as a forever war to preserve gains won through the Legislature.” — “ These teens won the right to vote. Their county disenfranchised them. ” by the Washington Post’s Moriah Balingit: “If all had gone as planned, thousands of high-schoolers in Oakland would have cast their ballots for the first time on Election Day. Many of them had worked since their freshman year to lower the voting age to 16 for school board races, arguing that no one had a higher stake in who led their district. And they won, convincing a supermajority of the electorate in 2020 to expand voting rights to younger teens.” | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | TRIGGER HAPPY — Investigation pins California Department of Justice data breach on organizational troubles , by POLITICO’s Owen Tucker-Smith: Poor training and unclear policies caused the California Department of Justice to mistakenly disclose the personal information of around 192,000 people seeking permits to carry a firearm, an investigation has revealed. UNTAG — “ Top S.F. official flees Twitter after account is hacked, ” b the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jessica Flores: “The profile photo and biography on the Twitter account @shamannwalton was changed and showed a photo of a man who isn’t Walton and claims to be a trader.” — “ Paul Pelosi attack: Feds ask for more time to process ‘substantial discovery’ in case against DePape ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Annie Vainshtein: “In a brief status hearing at a federal courthouse in San Francisco, prosecutors did not elaborate on what the discovery was.” — “ California Democrats passed these 5 liberal laws, then big business challenged them ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Maya Miller: “California business groups often play defense in the Capitol, where labor-aligned Democrats are dominant. But big-spending corporations can gain the upper hand in statewide elections with initiatives they place on the ballot.” DIVERSE AND DECISIVE— “ One reason the California Supreme Court is less divided than SCOTUS? It has more women, says chief justice ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bob Egelko: “The current court has two Black justices, two Asian-Americans, one LGBT justice —[Justice Kelli] Evans will be the second — and only one white man, Justice Joshua Groban.” — “ San Jose can resume clearing notorious homeless encampment, judge rules ,” by the Mercury News’ Marisa Kendall: “Several of the plaintiffs who live at the park pleaded with the judge to extend the order, describing their fear of being left on the street once the city seizes the car or trailer they call home. But [Judge Jacqueline Scott] Corley sided with the city, which promised that teams of outreach workers are in the process of getting everyone from the park into housing or shelter.” | | | | GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our “Future Pulse” newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE . | | | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | WATCHING THE TIMELINE — Europe tells Musk he’s top of their watch list , by POLITICO’s Laura Kayali and Mark Scott: “On Wednesday, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton held a video call with the Twitter CEO to tell him his company was not ready for the bloc's upcoming content moderation revamp, known as the Digital Services Act. They both agreed that the European Commission would conduct a stress test in early 2023 at the social media platform’s headquarters.” | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | — “ Meta Scales Back NYC Hudson Yards Offices in Cost-Cutting Pivot ,” by Bloomberg’s Natalie Wong: “Meta, which leases more than 250,000 square feet (23,000 square meters) across the two towers, has declined the option to renew its lease, which runs through 2024, the people said.” | | MIXTAPE | | — “ UC Davis joins top law schools in boycott against U.S. News college rankings ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Sawsan. POLITICS PAVING PUBLIC EDUCATION — “ ‘Hyper-Partisanship’ Is Making It A Lot Harder To Run Public Schools, New UC Research Finds ,” by LAist’s Kyle Stokes. — “ Joaquin Ciria lost 32 years after a wrongful conviction in S.F. Now he’s suing the city ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joshua Sharpe. — “ Chinese in Southern California are sympathetic, worried for protesters back home ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Andrew J. Campa, Anh Do and Helen Li. BUNDLED UP — “ A strong winter storm is spinning into California this week. Here's a timeline of its impacts ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Gerry Díaz. CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this -only service offers, click here . Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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