(CALIFORNIA) — Governor Gavin Newsom pledged on May 27, 2026, to tax 100 percent of any payouts received by California residents from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department anti-weaponization fund.

Newsom made the pledge in remarks to reporters, saying, “Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100% of those proceeds,” and adding, “That’s an action the state of California can take … [and] it’s an action we look forward to taking.”

His remarks targeted proceeds tied to a proposed settlement-style fund that major coverage has described as worth $1.776 billion. Some accounts rounded that figure to $1.8 billion.

The fund is meant for people who claim they were harmed by “weaponization and lawfare” under the Biden administration. Newsom’s response centered on residents of California who could receive money from that program.

He said the state would need action from the Democratic-controlled Legislature to impose such a tax. That places the proposal in the realm of a political pledge, not an enacted state tax.

California therefore has no 100 percent levy in force on those payments. Newsom framed the idea as a step the state could take, pending legislative action.

His comments arrived as the size of the anti-weaponization fund drew attention in multiple accounts. The figure most often cited is $1.776 billion, while a round-number version put it at $1.8 billion.

That difference reflects presentation, not a separate program. Coverage tied both figures to the same Justice Department fund.

Newsom described California’s response as a state action rather than a federal one. He did not present the tax as already approved.

A video report from a California outlet showed him making the same point on camera. In that footage, Newsom said California would tax such payouts at 100%, matching the written accounts of his remarks.

The proposal also fits a wider Democratic response taking shape outside California. Similar efforts have been described in discussions by Democrats in New York and New Jersey.

Those discussions place Newsom’s remarks in a regional political pattern, with blue-state officials exploring whether state tax systems can capture payments tied to the Trump administration’s fund. California’s version, as Newsom presented it, would apply to residents who receive money from that program.

Newsom’s wording was blunt and narrow. He did not speak about taxing all settlement payments broadly; he spoke about “those funds,” referring to payouts from the anti-weaponization program.

The pledge also turned on residency. Newsom said “Anyone from California” who receives money from the fund would face the proposed 100 percent tax.

That language put California residents at the center of the threat and tied the state response directly to receipt of the federal payouts. The proposal, as described, would seek to absorb the full amount of any such proceeds through state taxation.

At issue is a fund that supporters have cast as compensation for people who say they were harmed by Biden-era “weaponization and lawfare.” Newsom answered that idea with a tax proposal aimed at reclaiming every dollar of those payments for Californians.

No enacted measure followed his remarks on May 27, 2026. The next step he identified ran through the Democratic-controlled Legislature, leaving the proposal as a public warning tied to a fund described at $1.776 billion.