California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a major housing reform bill on Monday, and he made sure everyone knew he was thinking about President Donald Trump while doing it.
"Last week, Trump REFUSED to sign affordable housing legislation, calling it 'so unimportant,'" Newsom wrote on X. "Today, I signed a bill to cut housing costs by up to $60,000 per home, expand homeownership, and build more affordable housing. It's called governing, Mr. President. Maybe try it."
The bill in question is Assembly Bill 179, part of California's 2026-27 budget. According to the governor's office, it overhauls the state's affordable housing finance system through what it calls "One-Stop Shop" reforms. The idea is to streamline project approvals, reduce financing costs, and accelerate construction. The administration estimates the changes could reduce the cost of building affordable housing by $60,000 to $70,000 per unit.
The package also includes a $100 million Disaster Rebuilding Fund, extends homelessness assistance funding, and provides additional support for affordable multifamily housing through tax credits and state housing programs.
The timing is no coincidence. Days earlier, Trump declined to sign the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, saying he was protesting the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act. The federal housing bill later became law automatically after the constitutional signing deadline passed.
Housing affordability has been a central issue for Newsom's administration. Earlier this year, he called it California's biggest affordability challenge and said the state had begun implementing what he described as historic housing reforms. The governor's office says California has increased annual residential construction by 59% since 2019, reduced average housing entitlement timelines by 57%, and recorded its largest decline in unsheltered homelessness in 16 years.
Whether those numbers hold up remains to be seen, but Newsom is clearly betting that voters will notice the contrast. And he's not shy about pointing it out.
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