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California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is vacationing in Montana this week despite his government banning official travel to the state last summer.
The governor’s office confirmed to state outlets that Newsom was vacationing in the Big Sky State, which Gold State Attorney General Rob Bunta added to a list of states that California officials are barring from traveling under state law.
Newsom reportedly went to Montana to visit his father-in-law’s farm. A spokesman for the governor said on Twitter that Newsom was “on vacation with his family. He will be back this weekend.”
CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT BANS TRAVEL TO MORE COUNTRIES MORE THAN LGBTQ LAW
California Governor Gavin Newsom secretly went to Montana for a vacation.
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
The Gold State governor plans to return to work on Monday next week, but his office is concerned about providing details about the trip.
Newsom Governor Anthony York’s spokesman told reporters that the travel ban only applies to spending state funds and that California does not pay for its travel.
However, York reportedly declined to comment on whether Newsom brought security details with him to Montana, saying the governor’s office had no comment on security.
York also attacked the reporting of CalMatters journalist Emily Hoeven as “gotcha journalism” in a response on Twitter.
“SCOOP! The travel ban applies to the use of state funds,” York said. “The governor’s trip is not paid for by the state.”
“Connecting the two is an endeavor of gotcha journalism which is neither gotcha nor journalism,” he continued. “The governor is on vacation with his family. He’ll be back this weekend.”
Since 2016, California has continued to add states to its list where officials are barred from traveling.
Last June, Bonta added Montana and four other states to the list, bringing the total to 22 California states that have banned officials from traveling.
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The ban went into effect July 1 last year, meaning Newsom’s trip comes on the one-year anniversary of the ban.
“The state is part of the recent insidious wave of new discriminatory legislation signed into statewide legislation that directly works to ban transgender youth from playing sports, blocking access to life-saving treatment, or limiting the rights of members of the LGBTQ community,” Bonta’s office said in a press release last year.