Politico Goes Live From Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, California — California's next governor, long-serving House speaker and architect of the wealth tax proposal dominating its politics are among the heavy-hitters convening today for live interviews in Sacramento.

POLITICO's The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit begins at noon, at the precipice of landscape-altering transitions including the end of Gavin Newsom’s eight-year tenure, the election of his replacement and the impending retirement of Nancy Pelosi, the state’s most influential member of Congress. The featured leaders will preside over a financially imperiled health care system, a marquee Hollywood merger, the next phase of California’s native artificial intelligence industry and a climate agenda endangered by rising energy costs.

Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin will open the day interviewing Pelosi as she serves her final months in office and becomes increasingly involved in elevating her chosen successor.

Makan Delrahim, who is opposite Attorney General Rob Bonta in the merger fight as Paramount’s chief legal officer, will speak with Senior Executive Editor, North America, Alex Burns, before Global Anchor Dasha Burns interviews Sen. Adam Schiff for a live taping of her show, The Conversation.

Earlier in the program, Bonta will talk with Daniel Miller, our Hollywood influence reporter, who has led our coverage of the AG’s ongoing attempt to block Paramount Skydance’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery — one of the highest profile fights of Bonta’s legal career.

Three of the most influential figures in state climate governance — California Air Resources Board Chair Lauren Sanchez, California Public Utilities Commission President John Reynolds and California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild — will sit down for a discussion with Debra Kahn, POLITICO’s editorial director, energy and environment. The Newsom appointees will take the stage during a period of transition, tasked with helping cement the governor’s climate and energy legacies during his final months in office.

Then, OpenAI VP, Global Policy (and former Newsom chief of staff) Ann O'Leary and State Sen. Steve Padilla will talk artificial intelligence, followed by an interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton to close out the first half of the schedule.

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West President Dave Regan, who is spearheading the billionaire’s tax proposal dominating national conversation of the California ballot, will give a rare public interview after a 2:30 p.m. break. Health budget subcommittee chairs Assemblymember Dawn Addis and state Sen. Caroline Menjivar will come on next, fresh off the Legislature’s final spending negotiations with the Newsom administration, to look forward to health budgeting under a new governor.

Melanie Mason will close out the day with gubernatorial favorite Xavier Becerra. Register here for the livestream.

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