Gavin Newsom’s Michigan trip is once again putting the California governor’s work calendar in the spotlight. While he spent Monday campaigning with Democrats in a key battleground state, critics at home renewed their attack on what they see as too much travel and too little time spent on California’s problems.
The latest criticism followed the release of calendars that showed no official business for nearly four weeks during the first several months of the year. Those records also showed many days that began after 9 a.m. and ended before 5 p.m., a detail that has fueled questions about how Newsom spends his time as governor. The same calendars also showed 18 non-holiday weekdays in the first four months of 2026 with zero government business listed.
Newsom’s team has described the Michigan stop as part of his effort to help Democrats regain power in Washington and push back against President Trump. Over the weekend, he made the trip to Michigan for a multiday campaign swing that included meetings with Democratic leaders, activists and Black faith leaders, along with appearances to support candidates hoping to flip seats in the Michigan House. On Monday, he was scheduled to meet with Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate who narrowly won a Democratic primary for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.
Republicans and other critics seized on the trip as another example of a governor who seems more interested in national politics than state business. Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor in the November runoff, called the schedule and frequent travel “a massive insult to every Californian.” He said Newsom has become a “checked out governor” whose main concern is his own presidential ambitions.
Hilton also pointed to California’s economic struggles, saying the state has the highest taxes in the country while delivering poor results. He cited what he described as a collapsing economy, businesses leaving, people leaving, and the nation’s highest unemployment and poverty rate, along with worsening homelessness. In his view, Newsom is spending his time courting the political left instead of addressing those problems.
