{"id":31339,"date":"2026-03-26T10:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=31339"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:20:11","slug":"gavin-newsoms-wife-accuses-evangelicals-of-pulling-us-back-as-a-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/03\/gavin-newsoms-wife-accuses-evangelicals-of-pulling-us-back-as-a-country","title":{"rendered":"Gavin Newsom\u2019s Wife Accuses Evangelicals of \u201cpulling us back as a country\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pax Ahimsa Gethen \/ commons.wikimedia.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gavin Newsom continues to assert himself front and center as he appears poised to make a 2028 presidential run. However, some recent attention paid to Newsom\u2019s wife, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, has been less than flattering. A resurfaced 2022 interview<\/a> shows Seibel Newsom discussing her documentary \u201cFair Play\u201d with former Fox journalist Elex Michaelson. The documentary and the book it was based on focus on reconsidering traditional gender roles, with Seibel Newsom lauding same-sex couples who break those roles. \u201cSomeone\u2019s got to do the care work in a same-sex male couple. Someone\u2019s got to do that, so I\u2019m just going to do it. And \u2026 not be afraid or ashamed because it\u2019s part of being human,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Seibel also pushed for progressives to redefine what it means to be \u201cpro-life.\u201d \u201cSo many progressives are leaning into redefining what pro-life is really about, and that’s what we’re doing in California. You know, pro-life is about prenatal care and universal preschool and universal after-school and universal healthcare and taking care of foster kids and feeding kids universal meals and childcare. Like, that’s pro-life. It’s not about conception,\u201d she said, pushing back against traditional conservatives\u2019 views against abortion.<\/p>\n

She went on to offer some harsh criticism against so-called \u201cfar right\u201d individuals, particularly conservative Christians. \u201cWe\u2019re all on a spectrum, right?\u201d she asked. \u201cIt\u2019s just how society kind of pushes us and pressures us into these limiting gender roles. They\u2019re living in this silo, this evangelical, conservative silo that, ultimately, is just pulling us back as a country to a time and a place where we don’t deserve to be, and we’re not going to be,\u201d she added, saying that \u201cyoung women and fathers of daughters are awake now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) quickly blasted Seibel Newsom\u2019s comments. \u201cSo clearly, Newsom\u2019s wife is at odds with Evangelical Christians and conservatives. It\u2019s also eye-opening how at odds she is with many within her state,\u201d the group wrote<\/a>, noting that California is the ACLJ\u2019s largest donor base. \u201cSo, Jennifer is completely out of touch with millions within her own state. And if the number is that high in California, how many does she oppose nationally\u201d The ACLJ pondered if such statements could hurt her husband\u2019s presidential bid.<\/p>\n

More glaring is that Seibel Newsom stands accused of pocketing money<\/a> from her non-profit organization the Representation Project, a charity that pits itself against \u201cintersectional gender stereotypes.\u201d According to recent IRS documents, Seibel Newsom has paid herself and her company,\u00a0Girls Club LLC, over $3.7 million from 2012 to 2023, a figure that amounts to up to a third of her nonprofit’s entire income each year. She receives a salary of $150,000 from the Representation Project, with her company taking another $150,000. This puts her in the top 5% of highest paid non-profit executives. Seibel Newsom has not responded to accusations of financial misconduct. \u201cThis isn’t the first time Siebel Newsom’s gender justice-focused nonprofit has made news concerning its financial data,\u201d said Sarah Lee, spokesperson for conservative charity watchdog the Capital Research Center. \u201cIn the wake of serious investigative efforts into how nonprofits are keeping their books and working with state officials, the question of very high salaries is likely going to be much harder for the Newsoms to\u00a0wave away without explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gavin Newsom continues to assert himself front and center as he appears poised to make a 2028 presidential run. However, some recent attention paid to Newsom\u2019s wife, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, has been less than flattering. A resurfaced 2022 interview shows Seibel Newsom discussing her documentary \u201cFair Play\u201d with former Fox journalist Elex Michaelson. The documentary…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":31342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGavin Newsom\u2019s Wife Accuses Evangelicals of \u201cpulling us back as a country\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jennifer Seibel Newsom faces backlash over \u201cpro-life\u201d comments, criticism of evangelicals, and scrutiny of nonprofit compensation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/03\/gavin-newsoms-wife-accuses-evangelicals-of-pulling-us-back-as-a-country\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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