California Governor Gavin Newsom expressed surprise and concern over eight senators—seven Democrats and one independent—who broke with party lines to end the longest U.S. government shutdown in history. Speaking with the Associated Press at the COP30 UN Climate Conference in Brazil, Newsom warned that the senators are not sufficiently alarmed by President Donald Trump’s political behavior.
“I’m stunned… in the face of this invasive species that is Donald Trump, who’s completely changed the rules of the game, that we’re still playing by the old rules,” Newsom said.
The senators joined Republicans to pass legislation to reopen the government, bringing the shutdown closer to an end. While the move alleviated the immediate financial and operational strain on federal workers, critics—including Newsom—see it as a concession that fails to address longer-term issues, such as health care subsidies set to expire on January 1.
Newsom called the procedural vote a “surrender” and “capitulation and a betrayal of working Americans”, criticizing the moderates for caving to Republican demands. Many of the senators involved are retiring or former governors, and they defended their vote as a necessary, if imperfect, step to end the shutdown and restore essential services like food aid and federal paychecks.
Asked about his own efforts to counter Trump, including California’s recently passed U.S. House maps designed to limit Trump-backed gerrymandering efforts in other states, Newsom emphasized his commitment to taking a more proactive stance than his Senate colleagues.
“I’m really more alarmed than it appears the eight members of my party are in the United States Senate. I’m much more alarmed about the future of our country and the world we’re trying to build than they are,” he said.
Newsom’s comments come as the Trump administration did not send an official delegation to COP30, where he is representing California, the fourth-largest economy in the world, and meeting with officials from the 195 countries attending the conference.
