California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), embattled in scandal for violating his own COVID policies, announced on Tuesday that he is lifting stay-at-home mandates in June. The move to fully reopen his state, after a year of draconian lockdown restrictions, comes as the governor is in danger of being recalled. Millions of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in California signed a petition to recall Newsom for his hypocrisy during the pandemic; while his constituents were locked down, the governor was violating his own edicts.
Newsom said that his state is “looking forward,” and can finally reopen.
BREAKING: CA has administered 20+ million vaccinations. We have the lowest positivity rate in the US. Stable hospitalizations.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 6, 2021
Now, we’re looking forward.
We’re setting our eyes on fully reopening by June 15th — with commonsense measures like masking.
Mask up & get vaxed, CA.
“We are announcing today that on June 15, we will be moving beyond the blueprint and will be getting rid of the colored tiers.”
— NBC 7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) April 6, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces California aims to fully reopen June 15 if optimistic trends continue.https://t.co/Z0znBkPo6H pic.twitter.com/oHPvXyAZ06
Republicans are working overtime to push for Newsom’s recall. Kevin Faulconer, a former Mayor of San Diego and GOP frontrunner in the race to replace Newsom, blasted the governor’s “disastrous” lockdowns. He argued that Newsom’s move to reopen California is motivated by “his own political survival.”
My statement on Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 announcement: pic.twitter.com/2kwDfbyzCY
— Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) April 6, 2021
The petition to recall Newsom has collected over 2 million signatures.