Tipsheet

Gavin Newsom's Free Diaper Scheme Is Full of It

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  May 11, 2026 9:00 AM

California Governor Gavin Newsom is running for President. Well, this writer theorizes his wife is the one really running; Newsom is just the face of the campaign. This story certainly adds weight to that theory, too.

Newsom announced he was going to waste more taxpayer money, at least $20 million, to provide 100,000 new parents in his state with 400 diapers. He's doing this in partnership with an organization called Baby2Baby.

But there's a catch. Baby2Baby is connected to Gavin Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Baby2Baby co-CEO Norah Weinstein sits on the board of Siebel Newsom's "California Partner's Project."

That's obviously not a coincidence.

And math savvy folks noticed that the state is paying a lot more for those "free" diapers than the supposedly evil capitalist stores.

If you do the math, diapers at Walmart cost $.025 cents for Huggies, $0.27 for Pampers, $0.29 for Luvs, and $0.17 for the Value Brand.

Newsom is spending $20 million to distribute 40 million diapers to 100,000 babies. That's $0.50 per diaper, twice the more expensive store brands.

There's more corruption, too.

Here's more:

Siebel Newsom co-founded the California Partners Project, which helped facilitate the partnership.

Her non-profit works to increase women’s representation in leadership, and Norah Weinstein sits on the board.

Weinstein is also the co-CEO of Baby2Baby. She has run the organization since 2011 alongside co-CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof.

...

Patricof’s family ties have also drawn attention from critics, including her marriage to film producer Jamie Patricof, whose father, Alan Patricof, is a longtime Democratic donor with deep ties to the Clinton-era political network.

The state has committed roughly $20 million to the program, including $7.4 million already approved and another $12.5 million proposed in the 2026–2027 budget cycle, positioning it as a major expansion of statewide diaper access for newborns.

Backlash has been swift and highly critical, with many questioning both the structure and cost of the initiative.

Steve Hilton, who is running to replace Newsom, slammed the proposal.

Hilton went to Target, where he found diapers for as low as $0.16 per diaper.

"Why is it three times more expensive for Gavin Newsom to send diapers to 100,000 babies than just leaving the money in the bank accounts of the parents in the first place?" Hilton asked. 

"Because it's going to some total bulls**t non-profit, which cronies of his are gonna make money, and that is what is wrong with California," Hilton said. "Instead of just cutting taxes so you can afford diapers and sending it out in this ridiculous bureaucratic scheme."