California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) will deploy “crime suppression teams” throughout the state amid President Trump’s crime crackdown. 

“When the state and local communities work together strategically, public safety improves. While the Trump Administration undermines cities, California is partnering with them — and delivering real results,” said Newsom in a press release. 

“With these new deployments, we’re doubling down on these partnerships to build on progress and keep driving crime down,” he continued. 

Teams of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will work with local law enforcement in San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area. 

“I want to thank the Governor for being a collaborative partner. The best way to address crime and other top challenges is through partnership and this is an example of that,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) in a press release. 

Newsom, in a video posted to X, said, The President is doing things TO PEOPLE. California is doing it WITH PEOPLE.”

CHP will work through intelligence sharing, crime deterrence techniques, assist in investigative work and increase law enforcement visibility. 

“These crime suppression teams will provide critical support to our local partners by focusing on crime where it happens most,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee in a press release.

“By combining resources, intelligence, and personnel, we can better disrupt criminal activity and strengthen the safety and security of communities across California,” he continued.

CHP officers were already deployed in San Bernardino, in Oakland, where crime had declined by 34 percent since 2024 and in Bakersfield, where homicides dropped by 57 percent and shootings by 60 percent.

This comes as Trump has federalized the Washington, D.C., metropolitan police to fight crime, which has been at a 30-year low, according to city data. Trump has also threatened to send the National Guard to other democratically run cities such as Chicago and Baltimore. 

Trump and Newsom have had tense relations in the past few weeks. Newsom has been a very vocal critic of the president and has been trolling him on social media.

In a major point of contention between the two, in California this week, the court will decide whether Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles during the immigration protests in July was illegal, as federal troops were used for civil law enforcement. 

Moreover, on Aug. 12, the president threatened to send the National Guard to Los Angeles again. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in response, “Absolute, complete, transparent, blatant, brazen violation of the law. The Posse Comitatus Act said you cannot use military to engage in civilian law enforcement on American soil. Period, full stop.”  

The GOP’s tough stance on crime has always benefited them with voters. Democrats, on the other hand, appear vulnerable when it comes to public safety. 

This move by Newsom, who is expected to make a presidential bid in 2028, could be an attempt to improve the public image of democrats towards fighting violent crime.  

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) have sent a letter to Republican leaders calling on them to schedule a meeting “immediately” to discuss the path to a funding deal to avoid a government shutdown after Sept. 30.

Schumer and Jeffries want a “four corners” negotiation of the top party leadership in each chamber to put together a deal on a stopgap funding measure that would give lawmakers more time to finish work on the annual appropriations bills.

So far, the Senate has passed only three of the regular appropriations bills, and the House has passed only two of the regular spending measures.

“The Sept. 30th funding deadline will be upon us shortly. It is therefore imperative that we immediately meet upon our return to Congress next week to discuss the need to avert a painful, unnecessary lapse in government funding and to address the healthcare crisis Republicans have triggered in America,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote.

Democratic leaders are especially concerned about the looming expiration of enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The enhanced subsidies have reduced premium payments by about $705 per enrollee per year, according to KFF, a health policy research group.

They also warn that nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will force hospital closures around the country.

Democratic leaders are warning their Republican counterparts not to repeat what they did in March, when House Republicans jammed the Senate by sending over a partisan continuing resolution that passed the lower chamber with only one Democrat voting yes.

Schumer and a handful of other Senate Democrats reluctantly voted for the measure to avoid a government shutdown, but this time, Democrats are warning they won’t fold on a Republican-drafted funding stopgap.

“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way. That is the only viable path forward,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote.

The Democratic leaders asked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Republican Leader John Thune (S.D.) to unveil their proposal to fund the government in a bipartisan manner and to address what they called “the looming healthcare crisis caused by Republican policies.”

And they want GOP leaders to reveal whether any member of the Trump administration has indicated to them whether the Office of Management and Budget will submit another rescissions package.  

“It is past time you reveal your plans to meet the needs of the American people. Otherwise, it is clear that you have abandoned bipartisanship altogether and are preparing to shut down the government,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote.

The lawyer representing Susan Monarez, the embattled director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said only President Trump can fire her, after both the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House released statements saying she’s out of a job. 

“Our client was notified tonight by White House staff in the personnel office that she was fired. As a presidential appointee, senate confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her,” attorney Mark Zaid wrote around midnight Wednesday. 

“For this reason, we reject notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position.”

Zaid had earlier rejected an HHS statement, posted online around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, saying “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Zaid alleged his client was being targeted because she “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.” It added she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” the statement said.

“Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign,” it added. 

Hours later, the White House released a statement attempting to settle the matter. 

“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. 

“Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”

However, Zaid’s statement suggests Monarez will only accept her termination if it comes from Trump himself. 

The president has not publicly commented on the leadership crisis at the CDC. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to brief the press on Thursday afternoon.

Four senior leaders of the agency resigned on Wednesday, accusing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of weaponizing the agency for his political aims. 

Monarez, a career government scientist, was nominated to the post after Trump’s initial pick to lead the CDC, Florida Rep. David Weldon (R), failed to garner enough GOP support in the Senate. 

Monarez was approved by the Senate in a 51-47 vote along party lines, largely due to Democratic anger with Kennedy. 

While Monarez’s support for vaccines clashes with Kennedy’s long-held skepticism, she was careful to avoid criticizing her would-be boss during her confirmation hearing. 

According to The New York Times, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Monarez to resign or be fired Monday over tensions around vaccine policy. 

Instead, Monarez reached out to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Health Committee, further infuriating Kennedy, according to the Times.

Cassidy on Friday said the leadership exodus required oversight from his committee, though it’s unclear what that will look like.