Newsom Responds To Rippey’s Claims After Ex-Mistress Goes Public
Newsom Responds To Rippey’s Claims After Ex-Mistress Goes Public
Posted July 31, 2026
One of the most damaging scandals of Gavin Newsom’s political career is about to return to the national spotlight at a time when many expect the California governor to begin positioning himself for a run for the White House.
Nearly two decades after the controversy first erupted, one of the central figures who has largely remained silent is now going public with her side of the story for the first time.
Newsom’s office is once again attempting to close the book on the governor’s well-documented extramarital affair, offering a terse response after his former mistress published a new, highly detailed tell-all essay revisiting their illicit relationship nearly two decades later.
In a statement Tuesday, Newsom’s team said: “The governor acknowledged his role and publicly apologized for his conduct nearly two decades ago when he was still mayor. In the time since, he met his wife, started a family and has focused on serving Californians. He addressed this chapter of his life, including in his memoir, and out of respect for everyone involved, does not have anything further to add.”
The essay, published in Vanity Fair by Ruby Rippey (now Gibney), revisits the scandal that nearly derailed Newsom’s political career when he was San Francisco mayor.
Rippey, who worked as Newsom’s appointments secretary, describes how professional boundaries collapsed amid her struggles with alcohol and cocaine addiction.
She writes that she would scan his calendar for openings, appear at locations where he was expected, and wait for texts asking “Where are you?”
Encounters followed at his Russian Hill penthouse, a private room in a North Beach bar, and the W Hotel in Los Angeles.
Rippey portrays the relationship not as romance but as “another form of intoxication” fueled by proximity to power and the feeling of being chosen.
She details the first encounter after wearing a strapless white dress to a City Hall staffer’s wedding on July 2, 2005, and later passionate meetings, including one in which she ripped every button from Newsom’s shirt.
All encounters, she emphasizes, were consensual, even those she was too intoxicated to fully remember.
At the time, Rippey was married to Newsom’s close friend and top aide Alex Tourk, who was running the mayor’s re-election campaign.
Newsom himself had not yet finalized his divorce from Kimberly Guilfoyle, now the U.S. Ambassador to Greece.
Rippey entered rehab in May 2006 and ended the affair but did not confess to her husband until January 2007.
Tourk confronted Newsom, resigned, and the scandal exploded publicly.
Newsom held a somber press conference admitting, “Everything you’ve heard and read is true,” and apologizing for hurting “someone I care deeply about, Alex Tourk.”
The episode forced Newsom to seek alcohol treatment and nearly ended his rising political trajectory.
In his recent memoir, Newsom described it as “the stupidest and also briefest of affairs,” noting both were drinking too much.
Rippey now says she accepts responsibility for her choices while recognizing Newsom held greater power as her boss.
She remains sober, has remarried, and has even repaired relations enough to attend Tourk’s later wedding.
She also recalls then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris calling her after the news broke.
Newsom, who positions himself as a family man and progressive champion, betrayed a trusted friend and subordinate while holding public office.
The timing is notable, as Newsom is widely expected to pursue the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 after reaching his term limit as California governor.
Political analyst David Latterman told The California Post it is difficult to predict the political impact without knowing what Rippey-Gibney plans to reveal.
“What would be really sad is if Democrats make a bigger deal out of this than Republicans for self-flagellation,” Latterman said.
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Posting as GuestCBS Host LOSES IT After Sen. Kennedy FACT CHECKS Her Trump LIES… THIS GOT BAD!...
CBS Host PRESSES John Kennedy on Trump’s Spending — His Answer Takes an Unexpected Turn
The interview began with some of the biggest questions facing Washington: the conflict with Iran, rising fuel costs, and the approaching midterm elections. But when Republican Senator John Kennedy appeared on Face the Nation with CBS host Margaret Brennan, the conversation quickly moved toward an issue that could shape the political debate for months to come: how the government spends taxpayers’ money.
Kennedy did not pretend that the economic pressure facing American families was insignificant. He argued that voters were far more concerned about the cost of living than the daily battles playing out on television. With oil prices affected by disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, he said, the consequences of foreign policy were reaching directly into household budgets.
Kennedy Brings the Conversation Back to Affordability
Kennedy’s message to the White House was unusually direct. He predicted that the midterm elections would be close and argued that Republicans needed to keep their attention on the financial concerns of ordinary Americans.
“When moms and dads lie down to sleep at night and can't,” Kennedy told Brennan, they are worried about the cost of living.
He also called for a nationwide address explaining why the United States entered the conflict with Iran, what the administration hoped to achieve, and how it intended to bring the situation to a conclusion.
His position was not a blanket rejection of the administration’s strategy. Kennedy defended continued pressure on Iran while acknowledging the economic consequences of the partially closed strait. He opposed sending American troops into the situation, warning that deploying them could create a new set of problems.
That combination—support for pressure abroad alongside concern about prices at home—set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Nearly $1 Billion in Cuts Sparks a Constitutional Dispute
The conversation became more pointed when Brennan asked about the White House’s decision to cancel nearly $1 billion in previously approved federal funding without congressional consent.
Brennan raised concerns expressed by Senator Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who argued that the move threatened Congress’s constitutional authority over federal spending.
Kennedy disagreed.
“I love Susan like a taco, but she's wrong,” he said before explaining his view that Congress often appropriates money in broad categories, leaving agencies with considerable discretion over how funds are ultimately used.
He then deployed the phrase that would become the interview’s most memorable sound bite: “Spending porn.”
Kennedy used the expression to criticize what he considers wasteful government expenditures, pointing to funding for circumcision programs in Zambia and electric buses in Rwanda. He also argued that Congress should take greater responsibility for identifying and eliminating spending it believes is unnecessary.
But the disagreement was about more than whether particular programs were worthwhile. It raised a larger question: when Congress approves funding, how much authority should the executive branch have to cancel or redirect it?
Kennedy defended the cuts, while Brennan’s question highlighted the legal and constitutional objections. The interview did not resolve that dispute, but it brought the competing arguments into sharp focus.
Then Kennedy Turned the Standard on Trump
The most revealing moment came when Brennan shifted from the proposed cuts to taxpayer-funded advertising.
She asked Kennedy about a government-funded commercial prominently featuring President Donald Trump and praising his leadership. The question echoed earlier controversy surrounding former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department had spent $220 million on a border-security advertising campaign in which she appeared prominently.
Kennedy had previously criticized Noem’s campaign. Now, with Trump featured in another advertisement paid for by the federal government, Brennan asked whether that spending was appropriate.
Kennedy’s response was notable because he explicitly included his own political allies—and himself—in the principle he was defending.
“I don't think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” he said.
He acknowledged that the White House viewed the issue differently but argued that public funds should not be used to promote individual politicians. He also suggested that politicians should not have buildings named after them while they are still alive.
That answer complicated any attempt to portray his position as simply a defense of the administration. Kennedy supported the proposed spending cuts, but he also applied his criticism of taxpayer-funded self-promotion to Trump.
The Real Takeaway From the Interview
The exchange was not a shouting match, nor does the published transcript establish that Brennan lost her composure or that Kennedy fact-checked a series of false statements from her. What it does show is a pointed discussion about economic priorities, congressional spending authority, and whether public money should be used to enhance a politician’s image.
Kennedy’s argument was straightforward: families are worried about affordability, government spending deserves scrutiny, and the rules should apply regardless of party.
Whether viewers agree with his assessment of the proposed cuts is a separate question. The legal dispute over executive spending authority and the debate over taxpayer-funded political advertising deserve examination beyond a few memorable television lines.
The moment worth watching is when Brennan moves from criticizing government spending in general to asking Kennedy about an advertisement featuring Trump himself. That is where the discussion becomes more complicated—and where Kennedy’s stated principle is tested against his own party’s leadership.
Watch the full interview through the link below to hear the exchange in context and decide how convincing each side’s argument really was.
