California Governor Gavin Newsom has been accused of shifting blame to counties for his struggling homelessness plan, a move critics believe is part of him self-blame as he considers running for the presidency. Newsom accused San Francisco and Santa Clara counties of lagging on implementing his signature policy, CARE Court, which has cost the state $300 million but far fewer people than hoped. He placed ten counties on an “Improvement list” while praising others like Alameda, and threatened to cut funding from counties he believes aren’t doing enough. Critics argue that when problems occur, Newsom blames counties or external factors, rather than himself. The CARE Court idea has been criticized by state Sen. Roger Niello (R-Sacramento), who supports the idea as a way to compel mentally ill or substance-addicted people into treatment, but also criticizes Newsom's refusal to fund similar goals through Prop. 36, which voters passed in 2024.