Newsom Makes a Big About-Face with Big Oil

As he considers a run for the White House, California Governor Gavin Newsom may finally be realizing that he has created a major problem for himself and his party. It’s an issue others acknowledge could become a massive political liability for Newsom and other Democrats running for office in the 2026 midterm elections.

During his entire career as Governor of California, Newsom has portrayed oil and natural gas companies as the evil villains of greed, pollution, climate change, etc. You could name just about anything that’s gone wrong in California and Gavin Newsom will figure out a way to blame Exxon, Shell, or BP.

“They have been raking in unprecedented profits because they can,” Newsom said in October. “They’ve been screwing you for years and years and years.”

But more recently, Newsom has been eating a steady diet of crow as he’s been forced to publicly acknowledge the value of oil and natural gas refiners in his state. Newsom has directed his California Energy Commission Vice Chair to “redouble” his efforts to make sure oil refining companies remain profitable and, “see the value in serving the California market.”

In a letter to Vice Chair Siva Gunda Newsom said, “I am directing you … to reinforce the State’s openness to a collaborative relationship and our firm belief that Californians can be protected from price spikes and refiners can profitably operate in California.”

What happened to Gavin Newsom and why such an abrupt about face? Perhaps it’s because Newsom realizes he has gone too far in pushing his radical, failed energy agenda? He’s bullied his state’s energy industry for years, denying drilling operations and reducing the amount of acreage that oil companies can access.

He fervently supports climate change lawsuits filed against profitable energy companies as a vehicle to extort hundreds of millions from them. He’s slapped his state’s oil and gas producers with dozens of regulations over the years that have made California’s gasoline prices among the highest in the nation.

But now, Newsom and other Democrats who regularly attack energy companies might finally realize they could pay a hefty political price for their actions. Two of California’s oil refineries are shutting down. Major oil refiner, Phillips 66 has announced it will close its 650-acre oil refinery operation near the Los Angeles port by the end of this year.

The company made the announcement after Newsom signed a new law imposing another round of burdensome, unnecessary regulations on gas storage and refineries. Valero has also announced the closure of its northern California refining facility by 2026.

As California’s oil refining capacity evaporates, the potential for gasoline shortages and much higher gasoline and diesel prices has Democrat analysts worried. Long time California Democrat consultant, Andrew Acosta, told Politico, “…if those refineries close and we have increased gas prices, it’s going to be a problem for everybody.”

Even some California environmental activists acknowledge their agenda may be creating a wider disconnect with working class people. The California director for the Environmental Defense Fund admitted that environmental groups and activists have failed to, “…read the room, perhaps in a way that, unfortunately, Trump did.”

Perhaps California Democrats are reading the room now and understand how severely voters could punish them at the polls if gasoline shortages occur and prices spike to $8.00 a gallon or higher.

When discussing oil and gasoline refining operations in his state, Newsom now says, “Refineries all across the globe are struggling” and his administration has, “…some challenges” that require new considerations.

No kidding.

But Newsom still strongly supports numerous lawsuits filed by the State of California and by individual California cities seeking hundreds of millions from energy companies as punishment for alleged impacts from climate change. Newsom hasn’t said a word about rescinding those lawsuits. If he is serious about treating energy companies fairly and creating a “collaborative relationship” with the energy industry, he should immediately call for an end to those lawsuits.

Gavin Newsom has created an energy policy train wreck in his state – one that could easily lead to even higher gasoline prices and hardships on families and businesses. The companies that have worked for decades to bring affordable, reliable energy to California’s consumers are being driven out, and for no reason other than to promote an unstainable, flawed environmental agenda.

If Gavin Newsom thinks he can successfully win the White House by standing against a backdrop of gasoline shortages, long lines at the pump and sky-high prices, he’s fooling himself. Newsom and Democrat leaders in California actually do need to read the room and work with the state’s oil and gas industry to meet California’s energy demand in a responsible, affordable way.