California Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed federal judges for refusing to let state and local governments clear homeless encampments from the streets — but many of the judges involved are liberals, or Democratic Party appointees.
Newsom took to Twitter on Tuesday to support entrepreneur Elon Musk, who called for a boycott of the Latham & Watkins law firm that is representing a non-profit organization that is suing the City of San Francisco on behalf of homeless people. Newsom even agreed that California had spent billions on homelessness with little progress to show for it. But he blamed “federal courts,” not the law firm, saying that the courts “must be held accountable.”
The flaw in Newsom’s argument — leaving aside from the broadside attack on the judiciary — is that many of the federal judges involved in lawsuits restraining California’s cities from acting on homelessness are liberals, like him.
In San Francisco, the city was blocked from clearing homeless camps last December by U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu. She was appointed in 2010 by judges in the Northern District of California during President Barack Obama’s push to hire more women and minorities.