Roof Regulations: Gavin Newsom Gives Bill Maher Lip Service Over His Home Improvement Red Tape Nightmare

Talk show host Bill Maher confronted California Governor Gavin Newsom about all the government-imposed obstacles he has to contend with to make simple changes to his home’s roof. Newsom, like most Democrats, loves giving lip service to striking down government regulations while doing nothing to fix the problem.

Start here. (READ)

MAHER: “But let’s talk about what’s important: My roof.”
NEWSOM: “Your roof?”MAHER: “My roof.”
NEWSOM: “Is this the solar? We’re back to the solar after the fire. It’s always about the solar after the fire.”
MAHER: “After the fire, as they suggested. Two inspections I needed to have. Why? It’s my roof. If it falls on my head, that’s my problem.”
NEWSOM: “That’s it?”
MAHER: “No, that’s my question. Why do I need two inspections which I have to pay for? Yeah, you were here last time we talked about regulations. You said, ‘Oh, it’s a completely new day.’ That’s a quote from you. ‘Completely new day.’”
NEWSOM: “He [Ezra Klein] wrote a book called Abundance, which really lays out a very condemning picture of liberal governance in this country and the fact that we are process-focused and not outcome-focused. And you’re a demonstrable example of that as it relates to what you tried to do with your damn roof for the last 15 years. And so it’s our job to… to eliminate as many of those thickets.”
MAHER: “How’s that going, though?”

Here’s the full exchange. (WATCH)

NEW: Bill Maher grills Gavin Newsom on why he has to jump through so many government hoops just to make changes to his own roof.

MAHER: “But let’s talk about what’s important: My roof.”

NEWSOM: “Your roof?”

MAHER: “My roof.”

NEWSOM: “Is this the solar? We’re back to the solar… pic.twitter.com/bX4niFI80M
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) March 29, 2025

Newsom is trying to look and sound like a sensible moderate since his eye may be on the White House in 2028. Don’t let him and other Democrats lie to you about ending burdensome government. Bureaucracy is power. There’s no chance of Democrats letting that power go by cutting red tape and making government more responsive to voters.