David Spade criticizes Newsom over vetoed homeless spending oversight bills

Actor and comedian David Spade said California Gov. Gavin Newsom blocked an audit of the state’s homelessness spending, in remarks to fellow comedian Dana Carvey, his co-host on the podcast Fly on the Wall, that circulated online this week.

In the exchange, Townhall reported, Mr. Spade asserted that homelessness programs “lose $20 billion” while officials seek more money, and that Mr. Newsom had recently vetoed a bill seeking an audit of where the money goes. Townhall’s account did not cite a source for the $20 billion figure. Mr. Carvey said some other states let residents trace spending line by line on official websites, and he said the lack of similar transparency in California raised suspicion. It was not clear from the clip when the conversation was recorded. 

Mr. Spade described the veto as recent, but the two bills that match his description were vetoed in 2024, and neither would have ordered an audit. Both concerned reporting and evaluation. AB 2570 would have added an evaluation of the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program to an annual state report, and Mr. Newsom vetoed it in July of that year. AB 2903 would have required annual public reporting of cost and outcome data for each state homelessness program, and he vetoed it that September. Both bills drew no opposition in the Legislature.

In his veto messages, Mr. Newsom said budget language and other legislation already required more reporting, making the bills duplicative. He pointed in the second case to a separate measure he signed.

A separate review, a state audit released in April 2024, before either veto, found the state had not consistently tracked the costs and outcomes of its homelessness programs. The Center Square, citing a Legislative Analyst’s Office figure, said the state allocated about $24 billion to such programs over five fiscal years through 2022-23. The Associated Press described a similar sum as spent across more than 30 homelessness and housing programs.

The Legislature has not overridden a governor’s veto of a bill since 1979, according to CalMatters.

Separately, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced a criminal task force in April 2025 to investigate fraud, waste, abuse and corruption involving homelessness funds across the seven-county Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles County. The Justice Department said the task force, which includes the FBI, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general and IRS Criminal Investigation, would prioritize programs receiving federal grants and funding. Mr. Essayli said prosecutors would make arrests if they found federal violations. Mr. Newsom’s office said at the time that it welcomed the investigation.