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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a 100% tax on Californians who receive money from President Donald Trump’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund, a move that comes as critics accuse Newsom of running “slush funds” of his own.
“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds,” Newsom said at a Wednesday news conference. “We want to tax 100% of those proceeds and that’s an action the state of California can take. It’s an action we look forward to taking.”
Newsom’s staunch opposition to the newly created $1.78 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which supporters describe as nonpartisan, comes as he is widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
Critics have dubbed the fund a “boondoggle” created to line the pockets of Trump’s allies.
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Newsom has spoken publicly about his parents’ divorce, dyslexia and difficult upbringing despite his elite political connections. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
The chief complaint from Newsom and other Democrats is that the fund could be used to compensate people convicted or indicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 rioters.
“He pardoned all of those folks that were beating up cops and absolved them, providing them 1.776 billion dollars. So not only do you get a pardon, you get rewarded,” Newsom wrote on X. “That’s why this is needed.”
But Newsom’s criticism of Trump’s fund has also drawn accusations of hypocrisy from Republicans and conservative critics on social media, who have long accused the California governor of overseeing politically connected spending programs and “slush funds” of his own.
Among the programs that faced scrutiny was a $25 million California legal fund created to combat what Newsom described as “legal warfare” from the Trump administration. California Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones later deemed the fund a “slush fund.”
Newsom also faced scrutiny during California’s 2021 recall campaign over the state’s use of no-bid COVID-19 contracts. A Kaiser Health News investigation found California awarded billions of dollars in emergency contracts to firms tied to donors, political allies and well-connected insiders. Critics argued the state’s emergency procurement system allowed taxpayer-funded contracts to be awarded with limited competition and oversight.
Newsom’s proposed plan to implement a 100% tax on Californian recipients of the fund comes as the state faces a roughly $2.9 billion shortfall for the 2027 fiscal budget.
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An image shows the Department of Justice building with an overlay of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Under Newsom’s leadership, California has spent billions of taxpayer dollars on unfinished public works projects, including the state’s high-speed rail project, which carries an estimated cost of $128 billion even though a single track has yet to be laid. Newsom also faced scrutiny in March over an unfinished wildlife crossing bridge in the Golden State that is running $21 million over budget. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy dubbed the project a “bridge to nowhere.”
President Donald Trump attends an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
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Since the Justice Department announced the creation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund last week as part of a lawsuit settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, Democratic members of Congress from New York have proposed legislation to block the fund, while a Connecticut state lawmaker has also pushed to implement a 100% tax on the proceeds.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Newsom’s office for further comment.
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