GOP mocks Gavin Newsom’s ‘boast’ about small increase in homelessness

The leaders of the Republic of California seemed to laugh at the fiery response of Gov. Gavin Newsom in his critical analysis of his handling of the Golden State’s homelessness problem, saying that any increase in the homeless population is unacceptable.

Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized Newsom, calling the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s year-end report impeaching his abilities.

“Gavin Newsom lost track of the $27 billion he spent on the homeless problem,” Jones said, citing the report as ranking California first in homelessness, with a 3% increase to 187,000.

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“Today’s HUD report makes clear that instead of solving the problem, Newsom’s ‘solution’ of endless spending made it worse,” said Jones, R-San Diego.

The report, however, also revealed that Illinois, Wyoming, Hawaii and Colorado were states where family homelessness doubled or worsened.

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A statement from the California State Assembly Republican caucus echoed Newsom’s latest defense against an op-ed from CalMatters that made similar criticisms.

“In case you missed it, Gov. Newsom’s office has gone wild… breaking his record of failure on homelessness,” the caucus, led by Assemblyman James Gallagher of Yuba City, wrote jointly.

CalMatters pointed out that Newsom’s handling of homelessness will be a key point of attack for his potential Democratic presidential rivals in 2028 if he chooses to seek higher office then.

The column quoted Newsom as saying that “what happens on the streets must be a priority,” and reported that he has shown a willingness to hold local officials accountable.

“People need to see and hear progress and change…” Newsom said, according to the column.

Gallagher’s caucus then cited Newsom’s response to the column, which included a series of direct posts.

“Given the size of California’s population, talking about homelessness without any broader context or how this administration’s efforts compare to previous ones is disrespectful to the people of California, plain and simple,” Newsom’s office account wrote on X.

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“As the Governor has said many times, the work is far from over and it’s urgent and results at the local level are needed more than ever. That’s why new accountability tools have been used, to have quick results. And it’s a long time. effort — through Prop 1, the CARE Court, reform of conservation areas, the newly approved BH-Connect waiver is all aimed at addressing the problems of the homeless system but is not yet fully online.”

Newsom’s office also reported that homelessness has quadrupled during the waning years of Gov. Edmund “Jerry” Brown than under him.

“The homeless population increased by 13.83% during the Newsom Administration (2019-2023), compared to a 51.79% increase in the five-year period prior to the administration (2015-2019),” the text reads.

California’s 14% increase in homelessness also fell below the national increase of 21%, the governor’s office said.

Republicans in Congress responded to Newsom’s comments.

“Since the governor is committed to lighting the gas on this issue, we will state the obvious: a 20% increase is not progress,” reads their statement.

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Jones, the leader of the Senate minority group, revealed on Friday that he sponsored bipartisan legislation to reform California’s homelessness policies and focus on “strengthening compassion” for encampment violations.

One of his recent proposals, which didn’t make it to Newsom’s desk, focused on an existing state law that deems “occupancy” in public or private property without permission to be indecent.

The bill would have delayed any prosecution for that offense for 72 hours after the initial notification and set up a “state-approved local program” for homeless people in those situations.

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom for further response to the criticism but did not receive a response by press time.