California’s Governor Gavin Newsom took to Instagram this week with his trademark smirk and a warning shot at Washington: maybe California should withhold resources from the feds. His boast rested on a well-worn talking point—that California pays more into the federal treasury than it gets back. Newsom postured as if this made him the master of the federal purse. In his mind, California can flip the switch and bring Washington to its knees.  

But peel back the slick delivery, and you find bluster as empty as the boarded-up storefronts of San Francisco. Yes, California’s taxpayers send more money to Washington than the state receives in federal spending. So do other states with large economies, like New York and New Jersey. That imbalance has existed for decades. But the claim that California can simply “withhold” those funds is constitutional nonsense. The Sixteenth Amendment provides for the collection of federal income taxes, not state discretion. Sacramento cannot hijack IRS collections. Newsom knows this. He also knows most viewers of his reel don’t.  

What California can do—and too often does—is obstruct cooperation with the federal government. By declaring California a “sanctuary state,” Newsom has already limited law enforcement collaboration on immigration and terrorism. In 2017, California withdrew from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, depriving local police........

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