LOS ANGELES (NewsNation) — California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is doubling the National Guard presence on California’s border with Mexico to combat the flow of fentanyl into the state, and he criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for blocking legislation that would have provided more resources.
“The Republican Party has been consistently standing in the way of providing the resources and support to the men and women working hard, not only here at the border, but out throughout the state of California and in this country to address the issues related to the border,” Newsom said in a video posted to social media. “It’s time for them to stop playing politics. It’s time for the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to stop playing politics and do the right thing.”
In February, Democrats and Republicans negotiated a $20 billion bill to improve border security that would have provided $6.8 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, $7.6 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $4 billion to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
However, House Republicans almost immediately signaled they would oppose that compromise bill, even before it was officially unveiled, arguing it did not go far enough in securing the border. Former President Trump’s opposition helped ensure the compromise was dead on arrival.
Newsom has increased the number of California National Guard (CalGuard) service members from 155 to nearly 400 as part of the Counterdrug Task Force operations to counter the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.
CalGuard supported the seizure of 5.8 million pills containing fentanyl in 2023. The operations CalGuard supported resulted in the record seizure of 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in 2023, which was a 1,066 percent increase from 2021, according to the governor’s office.
“Beginning in 2022, the CalGuard’s Counter Drug Taskforce deployed 30 service members to the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, and Calexico Ports of Entry to support our federal partners,” said CalGuard Major General Matthew Beevers. “Due to significant initial success, in 2023, we doubled our force across those Ports of Entry. Under Governor Newsom’s leadership and broad Congressional support, our Counter Drug Taskforce has grown from 155 full-time service members to 392 today.”
According to the office, the majority of fentanyl smuggling across border ports of entry is done by U.S. citizens — not migrants.
NewsNation affiliates KTLA and The Hill contributed to this report.
