President Joe ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ฃ. ๐บ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ก๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ก.
Biden delivered an indirect but embarrassingly public rebuke for the ambitious governor by calling for passage of the bill, which would make it easier for farmworkers to unionize, as Newsom signaled he may veto the legislation for a second time.
To add further insult, Biden delivered his message just before Labor Day as Newsom was preparing to buff his pro-union credentials by signing a bill vehemently opposed by the restaurant industry that will help set wages and working conditions for the stateโs fast-food workers.
Now, Newsom must choose between the stateโs powerful agricultural interests and a celebrated union โ all while under a glaring national spotlight amid intense speculation about his presidential ambitions that he stoked with recent high-profile sparring with Republican governors.
โHeโs getting squeezed from all sides,โ said Steve Maviglio, a longtime Democratic consultant who served as communications director for former Gov. Gray Davis.
Citing "five people with knowledge of the governorโs thinking," Politico reported that Newsom is "privately seething over the Biden endorsement" of the legislation. Newsom's office had expressed concerns that the bill, which would allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections, relies on "an untested mail-in election process that lacks critical provisions to protect the integrity of the election."
The reported tension between Biden and Newsom is noteworthy because the California governor is doing everything to suggest he is laying the groundwork to run for president one day. If Newsom vetoes the bill, progressive opponents in a Democratic presidential primary are going to paint him as anti-labor and beholden to California's agricultural industry. Because Biden โ someone typically associated with the centrist wing of the party โ is urging Newsom to sign the bill, the attack could be quite potent if Newsom doesn't sign the legislation.
The Politico story states that Newsom staffers "made a verbal offer" to supporters of the legislation in an attempt to find a compromise, and when supporters sent a counteroffer, the governor's office never responded.
As it stands now, the bill is on Newsom's desk and he can sign or veto it at any time ahead of Sept. 30.
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Biden is looking ever more like Fireman Bill.