Story perspectives

Newsom taxes 100% of Trump settlement payouts.

5/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced California will tax 100% of any payout from President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion settlement fund, called a “slush fund” over leaked tax returns.
Newsom posted on X that people who assaulted police and tried to overturn democracy should not receive a taxpayer-funded payday.
Two Capitol-police officers sued the fund, prompting the Justice Department’s acting attorney general to defend it and Sen. Tillis to call the compensation absurd.

History

Historical Context

California’s 2024 proposal to tax any Trump settlement in full revives a long-standing clash between state and federal tax authority. States have asserted their own fiscal rules, echoing earlier federal-state tensions such as the 1752 British adoption of the Gregorian calendar that shifted September dates. Governor Gavin Newsom leads the state effort.

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Story summary

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced California will tax 100% of any payout from President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion settlement fund, called a “slush fund” over leaked tax returns.
Newsom posted on X that people who assaulted police and tried to overturn democracy should not receive a taxpayer-funded payday.
Two Capitol-police officers sued the fund, prompting the Justice Department’s acting attorney general to defend it and Sen. Tillis to call the compensation absurd.

1 / 2