California Governor Gavin Newsom ripped President Trump on Friday after CNN reported his administration is preparing to cancel a “large swath” of federal funding for state universities.
“Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back,” Newsom posted on X. “Maybe it’s time to cut that off.”
Newsom’s post included a screenshot of the CNN article on Friday that reported the Trump Administration is looking to cancel federal funds that go towards the University of California and California State University systems. Those two systems, as well as California community colleges, are projected to receive $7.3 billion in federal funds for the 2025-26 school year.
“No taxpayer should be forced to fund the demise of our country,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told CNN.
In particular, CNN said Desai criticized Newsom’s state for its energy and immigration policies, among other issues with how California is run. “No final decisions, however, on any potential future action by the Administration have been made,” Desai added, “and any discussion suggesting otherwise should be considered pure speculation.”
The potential funding cuts for California universities comes as the Trump Administration has signaled it is going to stop sending tax dollars to help with California’s high-speed rail project.
The project, aiming to quickly connect the Bay Area to Los Angeles, started in 2008 but has made little progress since construction started in 2015. Voters approved spending $10 billion on it, but costs have since ballooned to more than $100 billion, the Associated Press reported.
President Trump has indicated he wants to cut funding for California on other fronts as well. In a post on Truth Social last week, he said he wants to withhold federal funding because California “continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.”
So far, California has spent $5 million of the $25 million it has set aside to fight the Trump Administration in court, CNN reported.
The post Gavin Newsom Reacts to CNN Report That Trump Is Canceling Funding for the State: ‘Californians Pay the Bills for the Federal Government’ appeared first on TheWrap.
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