Vulnerable California congressman says he’s ‘not that far’ from hard right on fiscal issues

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REP. DUARTE SAYS HE’S ‘NOT THAT FAR’ FROM THE HARD RIGHT ON FISCAL ISSUES

Via Gillian Brassil...

Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, one of California’s most vulnerable congressional Republicans — he won his seat by fewer than 600 votes last year — caused a stir Tuesday when he told Punchbowl News that on fiscal policy he’s “not that far from a lot of” his colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus. That’s the chamber’s most-conservative bloc, whose members tend to back former President Donald Trump. It includes Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz among others.

In a phone call to The Bee, Duarte, whose 13th Congressional District President Joe Biden carried by 11 percentage points, clarified. He says he does not support certain fiscal measures touted by Freedom Caucus members, such as gutting funding for federal law enforcement, clean energy jobs or food assistance. The freshman says the caucus goal of “no debt whatsoever” would be bad for the economy.

Duarte is a fiscal conservative, which puts him with Freedom Caucus members who want to reign in government and agency regulatory power. That belief extends beyond the Freedom Caucus.

“Shrinking the size of our bloated federal agencies, lowering taxes on working families and small businesses, and unleashing American industry are the fiscal policy backbone which I share with members from all factions and all sides of the Republican party,” he said.

Curbing the federal government’s reach was one of the farmer-businessman’s issues when he ran for office on in 2022, making him popular among farmers and Central Valley voters concerned with water regulation and inflation.

The Cook Political Report and other election-analysis organizations say the race in the 13th, centered on Merced, is a toss-up in 2024. Duarte said he doesn’t care to get into House infighting or denounce the Freedom Caucus — or anyone — which could prove problematic ahead of the election.

“John Duarte made clear he endorses the cult of far-right extremists that has taken over the GOP Conference,” said Viet Shelton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which aids Democratic candidates. “The Duarte-backed House Freedom Caucus agenda will hurt everyday Californians struggling to make ends meet.”

Socially, Duarte supports abortion access within the first three months of pregnancy. He was one of two Republicans recently to buck his party on a large conservative border bill, being concerned with expanding an aspect to check whether workers were undocumented. Rather, he is talking with both sides of the aisle on a bipartisan approach for the border.

“I’m a Republican. I’m going to be a Republican,” Duarte said. “But other than that, I don’t really have a huge affiliation with any one, one faction or another. Other than how can we help each other get policy across the line.”

ATTORNEY GENERAL RELEASES 2022 HATE CRIMES REPORT

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday released the “2022 Hate Crime in California Report,” which reveals a 20.2% increase in hate crimes in the Golden State.

In 2021, there were 1,763 hate crimes reported. In 2022, that number rose to 2,120.

Black people remain the most frequent target, with a 27% increase from last year (513 to 652). The state also saw a rise in reported anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, (up 28.4% against gay men) crimes against lesbians increasing from 27 incidents to 33 and crimes against transgender people growing from 38 incidents to 59.

Religious groups also saw an increase in reported hate crimes. Anti-Jewish bias events rose 24.3%, while anti-Muslim incidents rose from 18 to 25 and anti-Protestant incidents increased from 2 to 12.

The state did see a decrease in one hate crime category: bias crimes against Asian people fell 43.3%, from 247 to 140.

“The alarming increases in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish people for the second year in a row illustrates the need for our communities to join together unified against hate,” Bonta said in a statement.

You can read the report for yourself by visiting here.

PSYCHEDELICS BILL CLEARS COMMITTEE VOTE

San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener’s second attempt at decriminalizing certain psychedelics moved a little closer toward becoming law on Tuesday, as the Assembly Public Safety Committee voted 5-2 to move SB 58 along to the Assembly Health Committee.

SB 58 specifically decriminalizes possession of psychedelics including psilocybin (also known as mushrooms), psilocyn, mescaline (though not peyote), DMT and ibogaine for people 21 and older. California wouldn’t be the first state to do so: Oregon and Colorado both have similar laws on the books.

In a statement, Wiener said that after “long engagement with a range of stakeholders,” he opted to limit SB 58 to just five “naturally occurring substances” and that facilitated use would be guided by best practices determined by the state.

Wiener’s office pointed to research showing that decriminalization of psychedelics does not risk public safety; the Denver City Council found that decriminalizing psilocybin did not present any measurable public health or community safety risk.

Research also shows the positive effect that certain psychedelics can have on post-traumatic stress disorder and treatment-resistant depression.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Assembly Health Committee to ensure veterans and all Californians can access these treatments for mental health and addiction issues and for personal use,” Wiener said.

CORRECTION — In yesterday’s edition of the AM Alert, we incorrectly stated that former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He was confirmed by the Senate, to serve as ambassador to Germany.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“In three days California is raising its gas tax again. Another 8 percent increase. I’m sure our roads will be pristine in no time.”

- Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed on a $310.8 billion budget deal Monday, a compromise reached by dropping the governor’s proposal to fast-track a 45-mile Delta water tunnel that would pump water from the Sacramento River to other parts of the state, via Lindsey Holden and Ari Plachta.

• California state workers could receive their paychecks every two weeks instead of their unconventional monthly payday, via Darrell Smith.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom, eager to convince the nation that California is booming, rattled off number after number to Sean Hannity on the Fox News host’s show recently. While most of Newsom’s numbers were accurate, there was other, less flattering data he didn’t share, via David Lightman.

• “Screaming for help”: Workers at California deaf school ask for raises to afford housing, via Maya Miller.