The radical left’s favorite golden boy is running the once-great state of California straight into the ground.The Trump Labor Department announced Wednesday that California Governor Gavin Newsom’s failed administration owes more than $22 billion to the U.S. Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.This staggering debt comes from loans California took during the COVID-19 pandemic to pay unemployment benefits — benefits that were looted by massive fraud under Newsom’s watch. California is now the only state in the entire country with an outstanding federal unemployment insurance loan balance.As a direct result, California business owners are being forced to pay higher federal payroll taxes to bail out Sacramento’s incompetence and corruption. Every other state that borrowed during the pandemic has repaid its loans. Not Newsom’s California.During and after the pandemic, California raked in record budget surpluses, at one point nearing $100 billion. Instead of using that taxpayer windfall to repay the federal loan like responsible states did, Newsom and the Democrat supermajority in Sacramento sat on the money, spent it on other priorities, and let the debt balloon with interest.The state has paid $1.8 billion in interest since 2021, with Newsom’s latest budget proposing another $668 million in interest payments this year while putting zero dollars toward the actual principal.The bill keeps growing. The California EDD’s UI Fund Forecast officially projects the outstanding loan balance to reach $22.0 billion by the end of 2026.The Trump administration has also signaled that it is expanding its scrutiny of unemployment insurance programs beyond California. During an interview with Maria Bartiromo, U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito warned that New York is hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars through fraud and improper payments.“You take a place like New York… the state of New York is losing between $1.5 and $2 million per day in either overpayments or fraud. That’s per day, not per week, not per month, not per year. Almost $2 million per day.”D’Esposito added that the Labor Department is deploying a federal strike team to investigate the losses.“Next week we’re going to have a strike team heading into New York to start reviewing all of these documents so that we can make sure that the money is kept for the American people.”WATCH: JUST IN: The Trump Labor Department says Gavin Newsom OWES $22 BILLION to the American taxpayer, and the bill MUST be paid“Gavin Newsom is $22 billion in debt to the U.I. Trust Fund, which means he owes over $22 billion to the American people because of money he borrowed… pic.twitter.com/E8aZgCczN5— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 8, 2026The post Department of Labor Announces Gavin Newsom’s California Owes OVER $22 BILLION to U.S. Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund – The ONLY State Still in Debt, Slamming Businesses with Higher Federal Payroll Taxes appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.