California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday continued his ongoing duel with red state governors, championing liberal policies on abortion and immigration in the face of some Republican leaders' moves on those issues.
Newsom, who is speculated to be a potential 2024 presidential contender (which he has played down), used his gubernatorial reelection campaign funds to place advertisements in six states with limited abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade.
All of the Newsom-funded billboards advertise that California is ready to help residents who are seeking an abortion.
“You do not need to be a California resident to receive abortion services,” one billboard said.
In a tweet on Thursday, Newsom announced that he would be responding to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott having transported immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and to Washington, D.C. -- which DeSantis and Abbott say is in protest of Democratic border policies -- by requesting the Department of Justice investigate their efforts.
“I’m formally requesting the DOJ begin an immediate investigation into these inhumane efforts to use kids as political pawns,” Newsom wrote in a tweet, accompanied by the his request, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Newsom has shot proverbial arrows at DeSantis before -- in August sending money across the country to help Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Charlie Crist defeat DeSantis this November.
-- ABC News' Isabella Murray