California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is widely considered to be a leading contender for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2028, told reporters in South Carolina on Wednesday that he is skeptical — but not surprised — about the IRS’s decision this week that allows churches to endorse political candidates.
“I don’t know if it’s healthy — I don’t even know it’s legal, but it’s not surprising,” Newsom said. “I just find it politically convenient.”
“It’s called gaming the system — in every way,” he added.
Newsom took part in a tour focused on churches and local businesses in South Carolina, where he stressed his message against President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress.
The IRS issued updated guidance Monday evening to allow churches that qualify for tax-exempt nonprofit status to endorse political candidates to their congregations — reversing decades of policies that attempted to separate religion from politics, as outlined in the Constitution.
Newsom, who is term limited as governor of the nation’s most populous state, said he thinks the IRS move is meant to bolster conservatives who are more hard-line on religious positions.
“They may have the formal authority of the United States, but we have the moral authority,” Newsom reportedly said at one stop.
Newsom was raised Catholic and has argued that he never faced a “Carter vs. Reagan” litmus test in church.
“We start to then segregate ourselves even further,” he said of the new IRS guidance.
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