Gov. Gavin Newsom issues prerecorded State of the State on California's 175th anniversary
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a pre-recorded State of the State address for a second consecutive year.
The address was delivered to the California legislature as a letter on Tuesday, coinciding with the state's 175th anniversary of achieving statehood. An abridged version of the address was also posted to the governor's YouTube channel.
Newsom highlights the Los Angeles wildfires in the address, hailing the state's response to the disaster while also calling out President Trump.
"Even as fires still burned, the newly elected President began targeting our state — testing our resolve with his relentless, unhinged California obsession," Newsom wrote.
Notably, the governor's invocation of the LA fires comes a day after two Republican senators announced a congressional investigation into California's preparation and response to the disaster.
Newsom also goes on to criticize the deployment of the National Guard to LA as part of the Trump administration's stepped-up immigration enforcement actions.
"They chased farmworkers through fields in Ventura County and arrested strawberry sellers in the very plaza in Los Angeles where Japanese Americans were rounded up during World War II," Newsom wrote.
Last year's State of the State was also pre-recorded, prompting criticism from Republican legislative leaders.
California Assembly Republicans quickly released a video rebuttal to Newsom's 2025 address, again calling out the governor's choice of pre-recorded remarks.
"I guess he's too afraid to come and actually talk about what the State of the State actually is," said California Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher in the video, which was recorded in the legislative chamber.
Republicans also challenged Newsom on his spending priorities – calling out the upcoming Prop. 50 special election – as well as his apparent political aspirations.
"He would much rather proceed with this crazy idea to redistrict all of our districts, take away our representation, and run for president on a platform of fighting Donald Trump instead of actually doing the work to govern his state," Gallagher said.
California governors have traditionally given a yearly State of the State speech in front of legislators. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom delivered the speech from a nearly empty Dodger Stadium.
Newsom's 2025 address comes on the same day that California is celebrating 175 years as a state. The governor issued a proclamation declaring the day as "California's 175th Anniversary," and a free block-long festival is planned Tuesday along Capitol Mall in Sacramento to mark the occasion.