Newsom targets major affordability squeeze in ‘striking’ convergence with Trump

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Heritage Foundation economist Peter St. Onge argued Gov. Newsom is embracing housing reforms long championed by free-market economists, but questions whether California can overcome its regulatory barriers. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is making affordability a focal point of his agenda as the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender moves to tackle housing costs — seizing on an issue that hurt Democrats politically while converging with pieces of President Donald Trump’s deregulatory housing agenda before the midterms. Newsom’s biggest recent housing reforms in California came before Trump’s March 2026 executive order on regulatory barriers, but the two are pushing some of the same ideas, including faster approvals, fewer regulatory hurdles and more housing construction. "This is a pattern that we've seen a couple times with Democrats, where