| | | | |  | | By Dustin Gardiner and Tyler Katzenberger | | Presented by |  | | | |  Vice President Kamala Harris is weighing her next move after losing the presidential election to Donald Trump. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | THE BUZZ: WHAT COMES NEXT — Kamala Harris is keeping her options open as she weighs what her political career will look like after leaving the White House early next year. Those possibilities include running for president again in 2028 or running for California governor in 2026, when Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out. The vice president hasn’t indicated if she’s leaning toward either — or something else. As our colleagues Christopher Cadelago and Eugene Daniels report this morning, Harris has instructed aides and those in her inner circle not to close any doors as she explores possible paths forward. After her loss to Donald Trump in the presidential contest, Harris took a few days to decompress with family and senior aides in Hawaii and will continue to think about her options over the holidays. She’s in no rush to make a decision, but she’s also not planning to fade from the arena. As Harris has repeated in phone calls, “I am staying in the fight.” It’s an unfamiliar station for Harris. She has held public office for two decades, throughout her meteoric rise in San Francisco, California and national politics. Now, she must prepare to chart a new public persona without the trappings of elected office. But the mere prospect of her running for California governor has frozen the field back home and kept some fundraisers on the sidelines. Potential Democratic contenders including outgoing Rep. Katie Porter, Attorney General Rob Bonta and outgoing HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra would be entering a crowded race with Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Senate leader Toni Atkins, former state Controller Betty Yee and state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond. Early polling suggests that Harris would be in a commanding position if she decided to run. Still, don’t expect any swift moves as Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, prepare to leave the Naval Observatory and sort through a complicated list of life choices, including whether to permanently reside at their home in LA. “She is not someone who makes rash decisions,” said Brian Brokaw, a former Harris aide who has remained close to her circle. “She takes, sometimes, a painfully long time to make decisions.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at dgardiner@politico.com and tkatzenberger@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @TylerKatzen. WHERE’S GAVIN? In Kern County for an 11 a.m. press conference about jobs and the state’s clean-energy transition. Event will stream on the governor’s YouTube channel. Separately, Newsom is set to announce that California will provide additional rebates for electric-car buyers if the Trump administration cancels federal incentives. For more, read POLITICO Pro's coverage this morning and the California Climate newsletter this afternoon.
| | | | A message from Food & Water Action: Will Gov. Newsom side with the oil and gas industry or Californians after the “worst gas leak in US history?" In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals, endangering public health. Governor Newsom vowed to shut down Aliso Canyon, but his Public Utilities Commission appointees voted to expand it. The PUC will decide Aliso Canyon’s future on December 19th. Learn more. | | | |  | CA vs. TRUMP | | |  President-elect Donald Trump. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images | UNDER THE RADAR — California digital equity advocates are sounding the alarm on one of President-elect Donald Trump’s lesser-known cabinet picks to lead the Federal Communications Commission. Trump’s pick for FCC chair, current commissioner Brendan Carr, has already outlined his agenda as author of the Project 2025 chapter on FCC policy. He’s also promised to end the FCC’s “promotion of DEI” —- a move that could see the commission axe affordability requirements for a wide-reaching internet service expansion program and roll back Biden-era protections that bar internet companies from providing worse service to minority groups. Patrick Messac, director of broadband equity nonprofit Oakland Undivided, said he’s worried that Carr’s policies will drive up internet prices and decrease connectivity for low-income communities. “He knows how to use language that delivers the same policy outcomes as the MAGA movement, but perhaps in more palatable gift wrapping,” Messac told Playbook. “His impact is going to be sweeping.” California lawmakers attempted last year to pass bills codifying digital equity protections and an internet discount program at the state level, and the efforts stalled before reaching the governor’s desk. But with Carr poised to lead the FCC, Messac said, it’s up to state lawmakers to carry those efforts over the finish line in 2025. Assemblymember Mia Bonta, who introduced one of the digital equity bills last year, took to X with a similar message earlier this month, writing: “California must act to ensure ALL our citizens have access to affordable and fast connections.”
| | | | Want to know what's really happening with Congress's make-or-break spending fights? Get daily insider analysis of Hill negotiations, funding deadlines, and breaking developments—free in your inbox with Inside Congress. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | ELECTION RESULTS | | | | 
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (right) greets candidate Derek Tran. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP | DOWN TO THE WIRE — Two swing House races in California are still too close to call. All eyes are on those contests, which will determine the size of Republicans’ majority in the House of Representatives. In Orange County’s 45th district, Democrat Derek Tran continues to widen his lead over Republican Rep. Michelle Steel. At last count, he led Steel by 545 votes. Election data experts expect his lead to hold given late mail ballots tend to skew Democratic in coastal areas and there are only about 20,000 ballots left to tabulate countywide. In the Central Valley’s 13th district, Democrat Adam Gray continues to chip away at Republican Rep. John Duarte’s lead in an ultra-tight contest. Over the weekend, Gray trimmed Duarte’s lead to 204 votes. That race is expected to go down to the wire as there are several thousand votes left to count. | | | CLIMATE AND ENERGY | | | PERMITTING PROWESS — Assemblymember Buffy Wicks wants California to build things faster. And now, she wants to apply that same barrier-busting mindset to clean-energy projects, such as battery storage facilities. Read Friday’s edition of California Climate for a status update on Wicks’ work as chair of the Assembly’s Select Committee on Permitting Reform.
| | | TOP TALKERS | | | 
A record number of woman have been elected to the California Assembly and state Senate. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP | NOT A BOY'S CLUB — Women will hold a historic number of seats in the incoming Legislature, nearly achieving gender parity with men. As Mackenzie Mays of the Los Angeles Times writes, women will hold 59 of 120 seats in the state Senate and Assembly. Men have long dominated the statehouse in California, with outsized influence on Sacramento’s political culture. Women “have an opportunity to exert power in a way that hasn’t been done before,” said Susannah Delano, executive director of Close the Gap California, a group that works to elect Democratic women. FEWER OVERDOSES — Fatal drug overdoses in San Francisco have fallen to the lowest monthly total in four years, reflecting a national trend. The underlying reasons for the change aren’t entirely clear to public-health experts, as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Catherine Ho reports. Factors may include the widespread distribution of overdose reversal drug Narcan, declining impacts from the pandemic and a shrinking population of vulnerable drug users, in part due to overdose deaths and social deterrents. Mayor London Breed has also credited the city’s efforts to arrest more fentanyl dealers. INSIDE THE ROOM — Longtime California journalist Jerry Roberts has an interview with GOP operative Ken Khachigian about his new political memoir, "Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan and Nixon.” The book details behind-the-scenes moments from Khachigian’s years working as a top aide to both presidents. Don’t miss the bit about Khachigian’s nickname, the one he earned for his fierce loyalty during the collapse of Nixon’s presidency.
| | | | A message from Food & Water Action:   | | | | | AROUND THE STATE | | |  People watch as a submerged car sits in a flooded street in Santa Rosa over the weekend. | AP | — An atmospheric river pummeled Northern California over the weekend, bringing snow to The Sierra and flooding in the Bay Area. While the storms subsided on Sunday, more rain was expected early this week. (San Francisco Chronicle) — It’s junket season for state lawmakers. Groups of legislators traveled to Hawaii, Vietnam and Taiwan over the last few weeks. (Los Angeles Times) — Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, who is termed out in 2026, said he plans to run for a seat on the Fresno City Council in two years. (GV Wire) — Former U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson, who was fined for ethics violations in Congress, has won a testy and costly election for the state Senate. (Los Angeles Times) — Leaders of National City, a small, working-class suburb, are feuding with the Port of San Diego. City leaders say residents are harmed by pollution from the port, and they want to be reimbursed more for city services. (Voice of San Diego) — A 70-year-old cruise ship that served as inspiration for the TV show “The Love Boat” sank in a back channel of the Delta this past May. Its demise followed a long and controversial saga. (Los Angeles Times)
| | | | A message from Food & Water Action: Will Gov. Newsom side with the oil and gas industry or Californians after the “worst gas leak in US history?" In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals. SoCalGas’ disaster forced thousands to evacuate their homes to avoid further exposure to cancer-causing benzene and other chemicals.
SoCalGas took four months to seal the gas leak. Families near Aliso are still suffering the consequences. Instead of shutting it down like Gov. Newsom promised, the PUC allowed Aliso to expand by 3,000%, perpetuating the public health threat.
Over 150 organizations have come together to call for a shutdown of Aliso by 2027, but the PUC is considering kicking the can down the road instead of protecting communities. Gov. Newsom and allies should stand with families, not SoCalGas’ profits. On December 19th, the PUC will decide the future of Aliso Canyon. Learn more. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | BIRTHDAYS — Abram Diaz, chief of staff to Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel … state budget analyst Jodi Lieberman … BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Saturday): Jennifer Kim of the Assembly budget team … Victoria Hassid of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.
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