“The Issue Is”: Rep. Adam Schiff, Gov. Gavin Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

LOS ANGELES - Following weeks of torrential storms, that brought death and destruction to the Golden State, this week saw more tragedy in California, with a series of mass shootings from Monterey Park in Southern California to Half Moon Bay in the North.

In Monterey Park, 11 people were killed Saturday during a Lunar New Year celebration, when a gunman opened fire at a dance studio.

Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to town, visiting with victims, community members, and the hero who disarmed the gunman.

While in town, Newsom also sat down with FOX 11’s Elex Michaelson for "The Issue Is."

The two discussed the Governor’s meetings, the resilience of the community following disaster, and the biggest takeaways when it comes to the hotly-debated issue of gun control.

Gun control also a topic of conversation with Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).

This, as Schiff stopped by "The Issue Is" for his first TV interview since announcing his 2024 Senate run, seeking the seat currently occupied by six-term Senator Dianne Feinstein.

During his conversation with Michaelson, Schiff laid out his case to voters, described his conversations with Feinstein, who has yet to announce her own 2024 plans, and reacted to this week’s decision by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) to remove him from the House Intel Committee, where he previously served as Chair.

Also this week, Michaelson meets with California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, discussing the issue of youth mental health while visiting a program at Santa Monica High School deemed a model for the nation.

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THE ISSUE IS: GOV. NEWSOM VISITS WITH MONTEREY PARK SHOOTING VICTIMS

GOV. NEWSOM’S CENTRAL TAKE: "It's one thing to intellectualize. It's another to spend time with elected officials and other experts, you know, providing me updates. It's another to see the human costs, not just for the person that's sitting in the ICU that can't communicate, or the young man that I did have the opportunity who survived, but his leg was shattered, but also to meet their family and to meet mom who has a translator in Cantonese and meet the young son and and absorb what really happened from that perspective, not from the perspective of what we express through the usual back-and-forth….

"My mom used to remind me this as a kid, seek first to understand before you're understood, and that's what I've done the last two days, just knocking on doors, walking the streets and having just real engagement with people and listening…"

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THE ISSUE IS: GUN CONTROL IN THE WAKE OF CALIFORNIA MASS SHOOTINGS

GOV. NEWSOM’S CENTRAL TAKE: "You know, I've had the privilege of being a mayor, back when our D.A. was Kamala Harris. We did a lot of gun safety. We advanced a lot of gun safety policies. As Lieutenant Governor, I did a ballot initiative, background checks on ammunition, not just guns. A ban on large capacity magazine clips. California has led. I guess my frustration is how we're seeing a lot of that leadership erode with hardcore right-wing zealots in the judiciary... I align myself with the President, that we're as dumb as we want to be as a nation. This is happening on our watch and we own this and we are complicit because we've chosen this reality. We've chosen it. We're not compelled to live in this world we're living in, we've chosen this world, and that indifference and that decision to put our kids at risk, where the number one cause of death in America was guns to our children, it just shows you how bankrupt some of the rhetoric is in this country and how much work we have to do…"

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THE ISSUE IS: REP. ADAM SCHIFF ANNOUNCES HIS 2024 SENATE RUN

REP. SCHIFF'S CENTRAL TAKE: "I'm running for the U.S. Senate from California because I think we're in the fight of our lives to preserve our democracy and to build an economy that works for everyone. These two challenges are really intertwined - the fact that too many Californians, too many Americans, see their quality of life in decline, that their quality of life is less than their parents enjoyed, and they have profound worries about their children, has made all too many people open to a demagogue who comes along and promises that he alone can fix it. I want to attack these problems as I have in the House. I think the Senate will give me an even more powerful way to represent Californians, and all Americans, in this existential struggle to preserve our democracy, but also to build an economy that works for everyone so that everyone can enjoy the American dream…."

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THE ISSUE IS: SEN. FEINSTEIN’S BLESSING

REP. SCHIFF’S CENTRAL TAKE: "I've spoken to her a number of times, including within the last 24 to 48 hours to keep her abreast of what I'm doing every step of the way. I have a very close relationship with Senator Feinstein, great respect for her. She has served as the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee in the Senate while I had the same role in the House, so we've worked together closely for years, and I want to make sure that everything I did was respectful of her and her service. And so, yes, I've kept her apprized, including very recently of my intention to announce the campaign.... she was more than comfortable with my announcing, I wouldn't be doing that without that kind of blessing, and I want to make sure that everything I do is respectful to her…"

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THE ISSUE IS: SPEAKER MCCARTHY REMOVES SCHIFF FROM HOUSE INTEL

REP. SCHIFF’S CENTRAL TAKE: "This is Kevin McCarthy. He will say anything. He will do anything. In this case, what he's really doing is he's appeasing the Marjorie Taylor Greene's, the Paul Gosar's, the Donald Trump's, who have a vendetta because I hold them accountable because I impeached, you know, their party leader and obtained the first bipartisan vote for conviction in a Senate trial in U.S. history. I'm proud of that work. I'm proud to stand up to them... If Kevin McCarthy thinks that, you know, these smears or insults are going to stop me, he's going to find out differently. And I think Californians are going to respond to Mr. McCarthy by saying, 'you know what, we'd like to make Adam Schiff Kevin McCarthy's home state senator.' That will be a proper response to, sadly, a elected official from California, Kevin McCarthy, who doesn't represent the best interests of our state or our country…"

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The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson is California's only statewide political show. For showtimes and more information, go to TheIssueIsShow.com.

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