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Inside the Golden State political arena | | | | |  | | By Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner | DRIVING THE DAY — Angelenos will only have to wait weeks for traffic to resume on a critical highway. Samples taken from columns underneath Interstate 10 show that the damage from the Nov. 11 fire is not extensive enough to require a whole demolition and reconstruction, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday. The goal is to have traffic flowing again in three to five weeks. | 
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks with reporters outside a House Republican Conference meeting on Capitol Hill Oct. 24, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE BUZZ: Kevin McCarthy is certainly doing a lot less talking since losing the speakership. The Bakersfield lawmaker and top California Republican allegedly elbowed Rep. Tim Burchett on Tuesday in what the Tennessee Republican described as a “clean shot to the kidneys.” The exchange, which the former Speaker denies, happened in a crowded Capitol hallway in view of several reporters and was captured by NPR’s Claudia Grisales, who was interviewing Burchett when McCarthy shoved past him, causing him to stumble. “Hey Kevin! You got any guts?” Burchett can be heard saying in the audio. The lawmaker then chased McCarthy down the hallway to confront him. “You got no guts…what kind of chicken move is that? You’re pathetic, man. You are so pathetic… you need security, Kevin.” It was apparently the first time the two had spoken since Burchett voted to remove McCarthy last month. Hear the exchange for yourself. Later, in front of reporters, the former speaker denied that he intended to cause harm to Burchett, and said if he did hit somebody, they would know. “If I kidney punched someone, they would be on the ground,” McCarthy said, per the AP. Burchett did some chest thumping of his own, telling reporters they could settle differences in “the parking lot” and that “it would be a very short fistfight.” The last few months have been tumultuous for McCarthy, the GOP, and the lower chamber as a whole, as lawmakers embark on their 10th consecutive week of trying to find a solution to fund the government. The whole building seemed to be on edge, with Sen. Bernie Sanders stopping a physical fight between Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also took to social media to lob some vulgar insults at California Rep. Darrell Issa over a vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. McCarthy has got little to lose at this point, but that didn’t stop one of his top critics, Rep. Matt Gaetz, from using the hallway incident to pummel him further. The Florida Congress member, who did not witness the alleged elbow throw, filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee demanding an investigation into what he said was a breach of decorum. "I myself have been a victim of outrageous conduct on the House floor as well," he wrote in his complaint. "But nothing like an open and public assault on a member, committed by another member." If Tuesday affected California Republicans’ opinion of their fallen leader, they haven’t let it show. Asked about the incident, Reps. Issa, Jay Obernolte and Mike Garcia all claimed to have little knowledge about any elbow throwing. “I have a lot of respect for him,” Obernolte told Playbook. “So, I'd definitely be interested in hearing his side of all that discussion.” When asked for his thoughts on the altercation, Central Valley Rep. John Duarte said: “I don’t have any.” — with help from Sejal Govindarao GOOD MORNING. Happy Wednesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.
| | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | PLAYBOOK TIP LINE — How are you preparing for the next legislative session? What are you hearing about committee appointments? Give us a ring or drop us a line. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on Twitter —@DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte WHERE’S GAVIN? Speaking at events around APEC. SPOTTED: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen grabbing a bite at In-and-Out before meeting Chinese President Xi Jingping.
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Defendant David DePape (center) testifies Tuesday in the federal trial against him in U.S. District Court in downtown San Francisco. | Courtroom artist Vicki Behringer | DEPAPE’S DELUSIONS — Between a unicorn costume submitted as evidence and delusional QAnon conspiracy theories, Tuesday was an entirely bizarre morning in U.S. District Court. Defendant David DePape took the stand in his federal trial on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping for breaking into Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s home in San Francisco and hitting her husband on the head with a hammer. DePape told jurors that he had planned to kidnap Pelosi and interrogate her while wearing a unicorn costume he brought to her house that night. His goal: force her to reveal, on camera, what he believed were government and Democratic-led plots against former President Donald Trump. “I wanted to use her to expose the truth,” said DePape, who repeatedly broke into sobs and could barely speak at times. “If she lied, I would break her kneecaps.” His testimony is the latest twist in an unusual defense strategy that illustrates the complexity of the federal charges against him. DePape has admitted that he planned to kidnap Pelosi and that he assaulted her husband, Paul Pelosi. DePape’s attorneys have instead disputed that he intended to interfere with the former speaker carrying out her official duties — a component of the federal charges against him. The defendant said assaulting Paul Pelosi was never part of this plan. He said he mainly wanted to force the lawmaker to recant her smears on Trump, and use her to lure other targets on his list, including Hunter Biden, Newsom Rep. Adam Schiff, Sen. Bernie Sanders and a queer studies professor. Whether that "Hail Mary" strategy from DePape’s attorneys lands with the jury could soon become clear. The case is expected to be in jurors’ hands by this afternoon. |  President Joe Biden talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-Calif., as he arrives at San Francisco International Airport for the APEC summit on Tuesday. | AP | S.F. SPARKLES — Democrats’ biggest names descended on downtown San Francisco late Tuesday, huddling around tables inside the Julia Morgan Ballroom at the famed The Merchants Exchange. Newsom had just wrapped up his remarks when the press was allowed in, and then chatted with attendees between speeches. Clint Reilly, the erstwhile political consultant and mayoral candidate who became a commercial real estate mogul, worked the room. He and his wife, Janet, co-hosted the event and own the building. Staffers closed windows to drown out loud pro-Palestinian protests happening outside, while Mayor London Breed and former Mayor Willie Brown looked on. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the film producer and a top fundraiser for Biden, was hanging out by the main exit, blending in with the crowd like a staffer. There also was a small table of alumni from Vice President Kamala Harris’ old district attorney’s office in San Francisco. “It is indeed good to be home,” Harris said after receiving a standing ovation. She spoke from the stage lit in blue. Harris said she joked with Newsom that between the two of them they could identify many of the building’s rooms just by feel and with their eyes closed because they’d spent so many days and nights gathering at events with the owners over the years. President Joe Biden also worked in some local flavor, repeatedly bemoaning the hammer assault on the husband of Speaker Emerita Pelosi. At another point, Biden thanked the mayor for hosting the APEC summit in San Francisco, a city that has struggled with homelessness and the proliferation of open drug use in its downtown and is a punching bag for the right. “It kind of sparkles right now,” he said. — Christopher Cadelago
| | | | Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here. | | | | | EYE OPENING — California voters are extremely concerned about the threat that generative AI poses to democracy, a new poll from Berkeley IGS found, with trepidation spanning across both sides of the aisle. The study reports that 84 percent of Californians are concerned about the dangers that disinformation, deepfakes and artificial intelligence pose in next year’s elections, with 87 percent saying that tech and social media companies should be required to clearly label deepfakes and other AI-generated media clearly on their websites. They’re important stats to keep in mind as lawmakers prepare to return to Sacramento, with some poised to introduce legislation regulating artificial intelligence. Berkeley pollsters also report that 73 percent of voters agree that the state government has a responsibility to act to protect voters and the public that these technologies pose in next year’s elections. | | WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY | | ZOOM ZOOM: The Sergey Brin-backed company “Lighter Than Air” tested its Pathfinder 1 dirigible on Monday, its the largest aircraft to fly since the destruction of the Hindenburg in 1937. (The Orange County Register) STORM BREWING: Unionized Starbucks baristas are set to hold their largest strike to date on Thursday, including 28 California locations. Workers United has unionized only 350 of over 9000 Starbucks locations, while the pace of unionization has recently slowed. (The Mercury News) | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | TRANSITIONS — Former state Sen. John Moorlach has joined California Policy Center (CPC) as senior fellow and director of CPC’s Center for Public Accountability. — Jack Lofgren IV, national finance director for Rep. Barbara Lee’s U.S. Senate campaign, confirmed to POLITICO that he’s stepped away from the campaign. The move happened weeks ago, but word only recently got out to wider circles. Lofgren previously worked for Collective PAC and Buttigieg 2020. — Carolyn Webb de Macias is now chief of staff and senior adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — Gibson Dunn has promoted a number of its California-based lawyers to partner: Chris Whittaker, Chris Trester, Carlos Soto, Negin Nazemi, Cynthia Chen McTernan, Jillian London, Julian Kleinbrodt, Samuel Eckman, Elizabeth Aislinn Dooley, Ryan Appleby and Melissa Barshop. BIRTHDAYS — Helen Brosnan … Alexandra Lippman … Molly O’Toole … (was Tuesday): Stanley Treitel ... Edward A. Klein ... Joshua Meltzer 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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