‼️ California Democrats just tried to quietly steal $20 million from the Motor Vehicle Account — the account you fill every time you renew your registration — to pay for CHP bodyguards for Gavin Newsom and other current and former politicians after they leave office. Not from the General Fund. Not from campaign accounts. From driver fees. KCRA caught it first: a $20 million line item buried in a 300-page spending bill dumped late Saturday night, headed for a Tuesday vote. It would put CHP officers on personal security for current and former elected officials and their families, “depending on a threat assessment.” Newsom’s office won’t say whether he plans to use it. He’s already shopping a 2028 presidential run. Sitting governors already get CHP protection. What California has not historically done is keep taxpayer-funded CHP details on former governors once they leave office. A longtime Capitol lawyer told KCRA former governors have not typically received this after they were done. This bill blows that line apart with money meant for roads, traffic, and public safety. Sen. Roger Niello, vice chair of the Senate Budget Committee, called it “inappropriate, and it might even be unconstitutional.” He said the Motor Vehicle Account — funded by registration fees — is forecast to go bankrupt in two to three years. CHP already takes most of it. Sacramento’s answer is to raid that collapsing account so politicians can keep a taxpayer-funded motorcade after voters are done with them. California already lets candidates spend campaign funds on security with no cap through 2028. Newsom has a massive campaign war chest. Niello said use the campaign account, not registration fees. They chose registration fees anyway. Taxpayers are already paying for Kamala Harris — a private citizen on a book tour — to travel the country and even overseas with dozens of CHP officers peeled off the roads. Newsom’s administration approved it, then refused to say how many officers, for how long, or what it costs. They denied records requests for just the dollar figure. Drivers are subsidizing a memoir tour while the state hides the invoice. Now they want $20 million more for Newsom’s next act. Why does any former official get a CHP detail paid by people renewing a Camry in Fresno? CHP already covers the governor and statewide officers including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. CHP is stretched. Overtime is exploding. Officers on VIP babysitting are not on the highways you drive. Newsom does not need this. He and his wife report roughly $1.7 million to $2 million a year, mostly from the PlumpJack wine empire. They own multiple mansions, including a Fair Oaks estate listed around $7.5 million and a Marin property bought for about $9.1 million. Fortune estimates run to tens of millions. He can hire private security tomorrow. His campaign account can legally pay for it. He would rather you pay. Threats may be real. That does not give a rich governor-in-waiting a blank check on your registration renewal. The Motor Vehicle Account has a structural deficit. California faces a multi-hundred-billion-dollar transportation shortfall over the next decade. Fees keep going up. Drivers get worse pavement and a Highway Patrol turned into a concierge service for the political class. No Motor Vehicle Account money for post-office political security. No CHP details for former officials building a presidential campaign. No more secret Harris-style book-tour motorcades billed to California drivers. If Newsom wants a bubble on the 2028 trail, he can write the check from PlumpJack, the Marin house, or his campaign account. Our roads are falling apart. Our patrol is stretched thin. The little money drivers still pay is being skimmed for people who already have wineries, mansions, and donor lists. Kill the $20 million. Publish the Harris invoice. Make Newsom pay for Newsom.