After President Biden’s poor debate performance, some Democrats raised the possibility of him giving way to a new nominee, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s name was also mentioned — but how he would handle the border crisis Woolen cloth?
If Biden resigns immediately, Vice President Kamala Harris will automatically become his successor. But if Biden says he doesn’t want to be re-elected, the Democratic National Convention could select a new 2024 candidate.
Newsom has been mentioned several times as a potential presidential candidate, although he has not entered the race in 2020 or 2024. But his name came up in conversations after last week’s presidential debate, in which Biden was widely seen as having performed poorly.
How will President Harris handle the immigration and border crisis?
If he becomes the candidate to replace Biden, he could inherit a tricky situation at the southern border. While numbers have declined over the past few months, they remain high compared with pre-Biden years, and U.S. encounter records have been repeatedly broken since then.
Unaccompanied minors walk towards a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle after crossing the border from Mexico on May 9, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Given that Newsom is the governor of a border state, he will have some experience on this issue. He has also been outspoken on the issue in a variety of ways, and as a close Biden ally, he is likely to continue the approach taken by the Biden administration.
In April, he publicly expressed his full support for Biden’s efforts to win more funding and a comprehensive immigration reform bill from Congress.
“Let us be clear: President Biden is doing everything he can to fund border security and humanitarian efforts, while Republicans in Congress are co-opting border chaos for political gain,” he said.
Newsom backed a Biden-backed bipartisan Senate package this year that would provide more funding to border communities and cities receiving migrants while imposing some restrictions on border entry. But he joined Biden in accusing Republicans of undermining reform efforts.
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His office also previously noted that since 2019, California has taken steps to provide more than $1.3 billion in humanitarian assistance and related services to local communities. Get asylum.
But while he agrees with the funding priority, there are signs the governor may take more aggressive measures than President Biden.
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters after the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
This year, California became the first state to provide health insurance to all illegal immigrants, regardless of age, through Medi-Cal. The ambitious initiative builds on previous efforts to allow young and old people to obtain insurance and is expected to help more than 700,000 illegal immigrants in the state.
Newsom told reporters it was based on a principle.
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“In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage — regardless of income or immigration status,” he said.
However, he faced some criticism from campaigners when he later moved to stop paying carers in the homes of disabled people living illegally in the country. The move is intended to save about $94 million as the state faces a deficit.
Some media also pointed out that Newsom neither criticized nor praised Biden’s executive order to limit asylum applications when encounters reach a certain level.
Click here for more coverage of the border security crisis
Instead, he focused on criticizing Republicans, claiming that “the only thing they are interested in is playing politics.”
Newsom has also taken an aggressive stance against Florida’s efforts to send immigrants to the state, suggesting he may continue the Biden administration’s strategy of prosecuting red states that take immigration matters into their own hands.
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Last year, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a flight to California, Newsom suggested he might file kidnapping charges against the Republican governor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
