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Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gov. Gavin Newsom patted themselves on the back Wednesday as they celebrated California’s controversial climate laws at an event in Long Beach.
The two politicians shared a chummy “fireside chat” at the 2026 California Economic Summit, held Oct. 13-15 at the Long Beach Convention Center, to mark the 20th anniversary of the California Global Warming Solutions Act, which Schwarzenegger signed into law in 2006.
The law required California to slash greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 — a 30% reduction that the state says it achieved ahead of schedule through mandatory emissions caps and reporting for major industrial sources, along with a statewide cap-and-trade program.
Schwarzenegger said he pushed the legislation through despite objections from the Bush administration, that he said tried to slow the creation of the new rules.
“I was going through the struggle,” said Schwarzenegger, a Republican. “I mean, we knew that they were full of s–t, right?”
“The federal government fought us, and every step of the way, and we went to court,” he added. “To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re Republican or Democrat. What is important is that you are representing the people, that you are working for the people and not for the party.”
Schwarzenegger rarely endorses candidates, criticizing both sides of the aisle when he does speak out on issues.
The former governor broke from that tradition by endorsing Kamala Harris in the 2024 election after refusing to support Donald Trump’s bid for the White House in 2016. He declined to make an endorsement in the 2020 race between Trump and Joe Biden.
Schwarzenegger has not made an endorsement in the California governor’s race. He has not endorsed a candidate in the LA mayoral race, either, but recently hosted a high-powered meet-and-greet for democratic socialist Nithya Raman.
Newsom even tipped his hat to Republican President Richard Nixon for his environmental record, crediting him with creating the Environmental Protection Agency and signing the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act into law.
“California recognizes its role and responsibility in the absence of federal responsibility,” said Newsom. “The headwinds are well established as it relates to the Trump administration and the vandalism in terms of our efforts is second to none.”
Newsom said he’s been working with local governments “around the globe,” and across the US, “to substitute for the lack of federal leadership,” on environmental issues.
“We have no peers,” said Newsom of California’s environmental protections. “We are dramatically changing the way we’re producing and consuming energy, and we’re creating jobs and innovation, and we are dominating in this space.”
President Trump has taken issue with the state’s rules, repealing the EPA’s 2009 “Endangerment Finding,” which recognized greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare. California and a coalition of states filed multiple lawsuits to block the repeal.
Trump and Congress have also tried to block California’s environmental rules by attempting to revoke California’s Clean Air Act preemption waivers, which allow the state to set its own stricter vehicle emission standards rather than follow easier federal rules.
A federal judge this year stopped Trump’s attempt to squash the rules, but legal and legislative attacks on the regulations continue.
The Global Warming Solutions Act has faced legal and legislative challenges as well but remains state law. Critics say the Act grants too much power to state regulators and allows rich companies to pollute while harming poor ones, through the cap-and-trade system.