Blake Jones

Kuna, Sacramento

California Education and Budget Reporter at POLITICO

Co-host at Go Long with Tyler Dunne

Co-Author of @politico California Playbook l Idahoan l 📧: [email protected]

Articles

What would Kamala Harris do?

3 days ago | politico.com | Blake Jones |Dustin Gardiner

Former Vice President Kamala Harris pauses as she speaks at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco, California, on April 30, 2025. | Camille Cohen/AFP via Getty Images SCHRÖDINGER’S STRIKE — The world will never know if a President Kamala Harris would have bombed Iranian nuclear facilities as Donald Trump did — but that’s not stopping rampant speculation about what might have been.
Porter’s crypto convert and Newsom’s media foes

4 days ago | politico.com | Melanie Mason |Blake Jones |Dustin Gardiner

A B-2 bomber arrives at Whiteman Air Force Base Mo., Sunday, June 22, 2025. | David Smith/AP DRIVING THE DAY — Gov. Gavin Newsom said the State Threat Assessment Center is on watch after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. The information sharing clearinghouse is looking for potential impacts on California, but had not identified “specific or credible counter threats,” Newsom added.
California’s Iranian diaspora at a crossroads

1 week ago | politico.com | Emily Schultheis |Dustin Gardiner |Blake Jones

A federal appeals court has allowed President Donald Trump to maintain control of California National Guard troops in response to Los Angeles protests. | | Wally Skalij/AP DRIVING THE DAY — A federal appeals court has blocked Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s effort to reclaim control of National Guard troops President Donald Trump deployed to Los Angeles following unrest after ICE raids.
Keeping San Francisco’s left in the cold

1 week ago | politico.com | Dustin Gardiner |Blake Jones

Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, a new advocacy group, is on a mission to stop progressives from regaining any ground in the city. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Programming Note: We’ll be off this Thursday but back in your inboxes on Friday. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: HOLD THE CENTER — One of San Francisco’s most deep-pocketed advocacy groups will relaunch today with a new name, a $2 million annual budget and a mission to stop progressives from regaining any ground in the city.
Newsom’s day in court

1 week ago | politico.com | Blake Jones |Dustin Gardiner

Protesters stand off against California National Guard soldiers at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles during a "No Kings" protest on Saturday. | Richard Vogel/AP JUDGMENT DAY — California attorneys will be back in court today asking a federal panel to restore the state’s control of 4,000 National Guard troops the Trump administration sent to Los Angeles following protests of his deportation agenda.
The next phase of California's Resistance

1 week ago | politico.com | Blake Jones |Dustin Gardiner

Demonstrators march in the "No Kings" protest with a U.S. Constitution sign in Los Angeles on June 14, 2025. | Noah Berger/AP NOT GOING ANYWHERE — Saturday’s mass “No Kings” protests are a wrap, but the points of tension animating California’s reenergized resistance to the Trump administration are very much unresolved.
California’s short-lived win over Trump

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Blake Jones |Dustin Gardiner

President Donald Trump talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2025. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP DRIVING THE DAY — A federal appeals court last night blocked at least temporarily an order ruling President Donald Trump’s overtaking of the California National Guard is unconstitutional.
'He is not a king:' Newsom extols court in Guard win over Trump

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Dustin Gardiner |Blake Jones

The California governor mercilessly mocked Trump and called the ruling “a big day for the Constitution of the United States.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, shown introducing his state budget last week, wants to extend the state's carbon market. Uncertainty about the market is reducing the amount of money California takes in for climate-related projects. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov.
Inside Kamala Harris’ LA unrest

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Melanie Mason |Blake Jones |Dustin Gardiner

Former Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the chair's award during the 56th NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 22, 2025, in Pasadena, California. | Richard Shotwell/Invision via AP KAMALA’S CALCULUS — Like many Angelenos, Kamala Harris has spent recent days glued to local TV news and doom-scrolling on the Apple News app. Unlike most in the city, she’s also been making calls to her mayor, Karen Bass, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a person close to her told Playbook.
Newsom finds his resistance voice

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Dustin Gardiner |Blake Jones

California National Guard troops stand in formation guarding the federal building in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. | Eric Thayer/AP DRIVING THE DAY — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew in her city’s downtown last night in an attempt to prevent looting and vandalism as immigration protests stretched into their fifth day. Later, Gov.