Psaki: President Biden opposes efforts to recall Newsom

WASHINGTON (KION) Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary for the Biden Administration, shared President Joe Biden's views of efforts to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom in a social media post Tuesday.

In the post, she wrote that Biden opposes the efforts.

"In addition to sharing a commitment to a range of issues with @GavinNewsom from addressing the climate crisis to getting the pandemic under control, @POTUS clearly opposes any effort to recall @GavinNewsom," she wrote.

Two years ago, Newsom was elected in a landslide, but since then, a petition has circulated calling for him to be recalled.

California voters tired of restrictions that have cut them off from jobs, classrooms and friends, combined with anxiety from the continuing threat of the coronavirus, could have contributed to the waning approval. Newsom has also received backlash for dining out with friends and lobbyists at a Bay Area restaurant last fall, while telling residents to stay home.

More recently, a fraud scandal at the state unemployment agency has his leadership during the pandemic under even closer scrutiny.

Two Republicans, John Cox and former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, have already announced campaigns.

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The Recall Gavin Newsom website reports that they have more than 1.4 million valid signatures, and 1.5 million are needed by early March for the recall effort to make it to the ballot.

Newsom faces intensifying recall threat as pandemic frustrations grow in California