Kevin McCarthy’s plans to ‘keep’ the House

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THE BUZZ: SPEAKER EMERITUS — Kevin McCarthy might’ve been booted from the game, but that doesn’t mean he can’t coach from the sidelines.

“I’ve helped more than 200 people get elected to the House, in the Senate, it’s because I care about the country. I helped build this majority. I’m going to help keep it,” the former Central Valley Congress member told our London-based colleague Anne McElvoy, POLITICO’s head of audio and executive editor.

McCarthy sat down with Anne this week while attending his first Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles since his removal for a bit of post-mortem punditry on his congressional career and how he’s keeping busy in the afterlife.

The conversation comes seven months since he became the only House speaker ever to be ousted mid-term, ending a 17-year run through Congress in December. His unceremonious removal marked an historic disruption for Republicans in Washington and California, where a handful of vulnerable members are fighting to keep their seats — and control of the House.

You can listen to the full conversation here in the latest episode of POLITICO’s Power Play podcast, but we pulled out a few highlights for the home state readers below:

On whether he misses the Washington fray — I miss a big part of it. There’s some people I don’t miss at all.

On the recent motion to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson (which failed on Wednesday) — I think the Democrats, and I think the Republicans, too, see what has transpired with the motion to vacate. In three weeks trying to find another person to serve is very, very difficult and it’s chaos for America. I don’t think anybody wants a motion to vacate, so I don’t support that motion to vacate.

On the recent protests at UCLA — I think it really comes down to: if you’re gonna be an institute of higher education, of higher learning, that should be your main mission and goal. When you allow people to disrupt, to intimidate, to go after people based upon their religion, you’re failing in the job. If you allow them to build a city and not come in and break it up, you are failing at your job. It really comes down to the administration.

And then when you finally clean it up, you find that there’s a large number of people that are not students there. Who’s funding this? I do not want to see the years from now that Hamas started recruiting based upon what’s transpiring right now. You have Americans being held hostage after October 7th. How can we forget that?

On whether he should’ve made a deal with Democrats to stay in power — I couldn’t live with myself if I did a deal with Democrats.

On Donald Trump’s chances for reelection — If the election was today, yes, he would win. The Republicans would win the Senate. Even with all the chaos in the House, it’s easier for Republicans to win seats in this race than it was for the last two. That doesn’t mean they will, but it’s easier for them.

On how he feels about another Trump term — America will be stronger. I think the world will be safer. The border will be secure. Our economy will be stronger. There’ll be more opportunity.

On potentially taking a job in the Trump administration — I don’t go seeking a job. I want the very best people to serve in government … I’ve served for 17 years now. I’ve done my part, but at the same time, even if I’m not serving in the administration, I’m going to serve my country.

GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.

Meanwhile, you can text us at ‪916-562-0685‬‪ — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at [email protected] and [email protected], or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte.

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

FOR GOOD MEASURE

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SPLURGING FOR SETBACKS — The group fighting to preserve a 2022 law that prohibits new oil wells near hospitals, schools and homes is launching a $1 million ad-buy this morning, marking a major fundraising achievement.

Large oil and gas corporations have fought the law since its passage, raising tens of millions of dollars and successfully qualifying a referendum for the November ballot that would ask voters to overturn it. Health professionals, community leaders and environmental groups have since formed a coalition to combat the measure and preserve the law’s integrity. Examples of the ads here and here.

The ad-buy, which will run through June 30, now matches the money spent by oil companies over the same period. The ads include messaging from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has supported the law, as well as community members who grew up near oil wells and face long-term health consequences. Proponents of the law have called the ballot measure fight a “David vs Goliath” struggle.

“We’re confident that once people know the dangers of these toxic oil wells, they’ll be with us, just like they were when they voted for the law back in 2022,” said Chris Lehman, the lead referendum strategist for the group.

DOLLARS AND SENSE — In other ballot measure news, an initiative that would add a one-semester personal finance course to high school graduation requirements was deemed eligible for the ballot on Wednesday. The group behind the initiative had submitted signatures in March and were awaiting verification. — Will McCarthy

NEWSOMLAND

MOVING ON — Jason Elliott, the closest and longest-serving adviser in Newsom’s office, will leave the administration in the coming months, our colleague Christopher Cadelago reports this morning.

Elliott’s last day is June 21, after which he plans to focus on starting a consulting business. A public policy savant who was 25 years old when he joined Newsom in the San Francisco mayor’s office, Elliott’s portfolio in Sacramento ballooned to encompass seemingly every gubernatorial priority — from housing and homelessness to mental health, business and tech, crime and rehabbing downtowns and the state budget.

“I’ve been privileged to have a series of jobs where I have touched almost every single policy issue that faces the governor’s office,” Elliott said in an interview ahead of his announcement. “It’s been really intense and I’m excited to sort of start the next thing.”

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

THE AI’S HAVE IT — Last night, we hosted a discussion about artificial-intelligence regulation with state Sen. Scott Wiener alongside venture capitalist and academic Shomit Ghose. Key highlights from their conversation with our colleague Jeremy B. White at Manny’s in San Francisco’s Mission district:

WIENER TREADING LIGHTLY ON REGULATION: “In this particular situation, I see the good and I also see the risk,” he said. Wiener likened the issue to social media, saying the potential for positive societal impacts could be eclipsed by the harm if appropriate guardrails aren’t in place. “We have an opportunity to do that with AI. We may or may not succeed — we can never guarantee success. But let’s not repeat the mistakes we made with other technology.”

ON THE CLIMATE IMPACT: “Every time you create a single image using AI, it takes the same energy footprint as charging your cell phone,” Ghose said. “We have to think consciously, and stay free of the frivolous use.”

ON FUNDING FOR REGULATION: “It’s worth finding the money to do that, and that money will be a drop in the bucket in terms of the budget of the state of California,” said Wiener, who’s engaged in budget negotiations with Newsom, as the Senate’s new-ish budget chair.

PARTY POLITICS

EXTRA! EXTRA! — Kristi Noem’s recently-published memoir is giving her all kinds of headaches, but the California Republican Party is hoping it can bring in some fundraising dollars.

The party on Wednesday sent out a text to supporters, seen by Playbook, urging them to reserve their copy of the South Dakota governor’s book, “No Going Back,” for the bargain price of a $25 donation to the party. In case you’ve been hiding in a gravel pit, that’s the same book in which she recounts shooting her 14-month-old puppy Cricket for unruly behavior — an anecdote intended to display her grit that has seriously backfired.

Noem is scheduled to deliver luncheon remarks to California Republicans at their party convention in Burlingame next week. She booked the gig prior to the puppy scandal, and party officials, in a statement on Wednesday, appeared to be nonplussed about the whole affair.

“We are looking forward to seeing Governor Noem at the convention and are promoting her appearance in the buildup to next weekend,” CAGOP spokesperson Ellie Hockenbury said.

ON THE HILL

HOUSE HOLDOUTS — The House overwhelmingly saved Speaker Mike Johnson with Democrats’ support last night — but eight California Dems were not willing to help him.

Reps. Nanette Barragán, John Garamendi, Robert Garcia, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Harder, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters voted to take up Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate Johnson from the speakership.

Three California Democrats also voted present: Reps. Judy Chu, Mark Takano and Norma Torres. Reps. Sara Jacobs, Doug LaMalfa and Kevin Mullin did not vote.

The rest of the California delegation, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voted to table the motion to vacate, or stop Greene’s attempt to boot Johnson from the speakership. All of the delegation’s Republicans voted in favor of Johnson.

Many progressives previously expressed their concerns about voting to save Johnson out of fear of a potential backlash they may get from the left. Others were concerned about Johnson’s role in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. — Mia McCarthy

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

NEWSOM ON TOUR — Newsom is taking California’s climate show — wildfires, gas prices and all — on the road again with next week’s Vatican trip. Read more about his strategy’s promise and pitfalls in last night’s California Climate — and in Wes Venteicher’s story out today.

ON THE AGENDA

FLOOR SESH — Both the Senate and Assembly will convene at 9 a.m. today.

ON THE RADAR — Newsom is scheduled to issue his latest budget plan, colloquially known as the May Revise, on Friday in Sacramento.

TOP TALKERS

— After decades of growth, California’s wine industry is in dramatic decline. (San Francisco Chronicle)

— California invested $500 million in two apps that offer its youth free behavioral health services, but the rollout has been slow. (GovTech)

— President Joe Biden begins another round of campaign fundraising in California today. (East Bay Times)

AROUND THE STATE

— Over 1,400 people are missing in San Francisco, but many of their family members say police aren’t doing enough to find them. (The San Francisco Standard)

— Rent hikes outpaced pay raises in four California metropolitan areas during the past four years. The Inland Empire boasts the biggest gap among them. (The Orange County Register)

— The state’s wealthiest farming family proposed an expansion of industrial warehousing in Kern County that would make it ground zero for California’s global goods market. (Los Angeles Times)

— A growing encampment of waterproof canvas tents created by Ojai officials is the town’s unusual effort to address homelessness. (KYMA)

— A San Francisco company is using generative AI to rapidly regurgitate news articles onto competing sites read by millions of readers. (San Francisco Chronicle)

PLAYBOOKERS

IN MEMORIAM — Former California Rep. Pete McCloskey died Wednesday at age 96. An old-school Republican from San Mateo County who likened his views to those of Teddy Roosevelt, McCloskey called for Richard Nixon’s impeachment over the Vietnam War and ran against him for president in 1972. McCloskey was also a champion of the Endangered Species Act and Earth Day. More here from The Washington Post.

PEOPLE MOVES — Robert Gonzalez will be the new communications coordinator for Teamsters 1932. He’s currently an intern for Assemblymember Liz Ortega.

BIRTHDAYS — Joel Kaplan … Shiza Shahid … Laura Capps … Conor Lynch

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