Gavin Newsom's Fake DOGE

A political stunt that flies in the face of Gavin’s Newsom’s record…

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Governor Gavin Newsom revealed a plan to use artificial intelligence to streamline state government services earlier this week. His proposal lacks credulity when you look at the Governor's track record of facilitating waste, fraud, and abuse. The scheme, which at least politically competes with President Trump's national efforts with the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aims to simplify state work and reduce costs. But let's take some time to review Newsom's lack of performance in doing anything efficiently with the state government of which he is the chief executive; add into the mix his close ties to the state's powerful public employee unions, and it raises significant questions about its ability to deliver.

Newsom's past of pricey, poor-performing projects has hit California's budget hard. The California High-Speed Rail, which started in 2008 with a $33 billion price tag, has ballooned to over $100 billion without a single working mile. This 'train to nowhere' takes money away from other priorities, such as infrastructure, taking actions to prevent and mitigate wildfire damage, and adequately funding public safety programs to ensure his constituents are safe. Also, Newsom's growth of Medi-Cal to cover undocumented immigrants, costing billions each year, has put pressure on California's budget, forcing a $3.44 billion loan to keep payments going. With the state facing a $68 billion shortfall, spending choices clash with the idea of efficiency Newsom now promotes.

Fraud has also troubled Newsom's time in office. While the pandemic raged, California's Employment Development Department (EDD) lost $20 billion to $50 billion to fake unemployment claims. This huge blunder, paid for by taxpayers, showed big problems in how things were watched and checked. A plan to boost productivity needs strong safeguards, but Newsom's team couldn't stop or claw back these losses. How can a Governor who let this mess happen lead the way to smoother operations? Newsom's handling of COVID-19 further hurts his standing. His tough lockdowns closed beaches and eateries, hurting small shops and beach towns. His choice to eat at the French Laundry while pushing rules made people call him two-faced. These moves show a top-down style that puts control before common sense, clashing with the results-driven approach Newsom now wants to copy. Californians dealing with more crime and people on the streets might see his AI plan as an empty promise from a leader who doesn't get what they need.

It's worth focusing on Newsom's strong connection with California's influential public employee unions, representing the state's huge workforce of 436,435 jobs—11.1 for every 1,000 people. These unions, such as the SEIU and California Teachers Association, have supported Newsom with significant campaign help and political clout. To pay them back, Newsom has pushed for their interests, getting them wins on their "wish lists" of goodies for their members. Any attempt to cut down the state's oversized bureaucracy or ensure precise work results, as DOGE does, would result in strong union pushback. These groups see staff cuts or job performance measures as dangers to their power and their members' job safety. Newsom's prior unwillingness to go against his friends suggests his talk about making things work better won't lead to fundamental changes that shake up how things are now.

Let us also not forget how Newsom’s big-spending habit of hiring outside consultants. This has further burdened taxpayers and casts doubt on his commitment to efficiency. His administration has directed hundreds of millions to firms like Accenture and Blue Shield for tasks like EDD system upgrades and vaccine distribution, often with lackluster results. A 2021 audit revealed over $800 million spent on EDD consultants, yet fraud ran rampant.

Does anybody think that suddenly Newsom is willing to reign in California's bureaucracy and curb his overreliance on consultants? While AI could modernize state processes, his initiative lacks the fiscal or moral authority to inspire confidence. It sounds more like another gimmick to give himself some veneer of political moderation, which he thinks will help his political future. Newsom's supporters might argue his AI push shows forward-thinking leadership. But without addressing California's massive deficit, numerous fraud scandals, the bureaucratic excess, and how he suddenly would buck his union allies, his faux DOGE falls short of the transformative change Californians deserve.