“Real Time” host Bill Maher had a bone to pick with Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom over the Golden State’s many regulations, something the HBO host pressed him on during an interview.
The liberal host relayed how he personally felt the sting of big government. Maher kicked off the exchange Friday by complaining to Newsom how he needed to pay out-of-pocket for “two inspections” for upgrades on his roof following the devastating wildfires in the Pacific Palisades.
“It’s my roof!” Maher exclaimed. “If it falls on my head, that’s my problem.”
“Why do I need two inspections, which I have to pay for? You were here last time. We talked about regulations. You said, ‘Oh, it’s a completely new day,'” Maher said and made a face at the governor. “You said you were working on it.”
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Newsom acknowledged it’s “our job” to eliminate such bureaucratic hurdles, to which Maher interjected, “How’s that going though?”
“When we have an emergency mindset, it goes extraordinarily well,” Newsom followed, citing how his administration got Interstate-10 up and running “within eight days” after the fires and not “months and months and months” that it normally would have taken as well as the first phase of debris removal being done “in less than a month.”
The Democratic governor, who Maher repeatedly urged to run for president in 2028, went on to call needless regulation “an indictment of liberal governance and leadership,” saying “we own” years-long delays on building its high-speed rail and housing developments.
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Maher leveled another complaint about the proposed high-speed rail not going from Sacramento to San Diego but instead “Merced to Bakersfield.” Newsom offered a long response without addressing Maher’s complaint, which he called out.
“It’s why you’d be a good candidate. You play this game well,” Maher told Newsom with a smirk.
The liberal comedian went on to list the people involved in the California bureaucracy, including but not limited to “regulators, administrators, inspectors, contract reviewers,” “project managers, fee accessors, special commissioners, zoning officers, consultants, contractors, lawyers, lobbyists, sometimes unions also.”
“Can’t you take a chainsaw? Can’t we DOGE the s— out of these people?” Maher asked.
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Newsom assured Maher “we’re moving in that direction very aggressively,” but quickly pivoted to how many of the rules were established by Republicans and accused the GOP of weaponizing the issue of regulation.
Last week, Maher warned Democrats their party may meet the same fate as the “Whigs” if they don’t embrace deregulation.
