Elon Musk, Milken Man

By SUZANNE LYNCH

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GREETINGS from the Golden State of California. Suzanne Lynch here, bringing you Global Playbook direct from Los Angeles, where the Milken Institute's Global Conference kicks off Sunday.

The backdrop: LA has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons following violent clashes at UCLA, as the pro-Palestinian protests that have swept through American college campuses reached the West Coast.

Back in town: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — who's due to address the Milken crowd Monday — raced back to the city mid-week from Washington D.C., where she'd been leading a delegation of 50 mayors to discuss a key issue facing Los Angeles: homelessness. She returned to a city mired in a different kind of crisis, as law enforcement moved in to remove protestors.

Meanwhile, just a few miles away from UCLA, where police helicopters have been circling overhead, signs advertising the Milken Conference adorn the palm-lined streets around Rodeo Drive, as the Beverly Hilton gears up for the 27th edition of the gathering. 

A-LISTERS ASSEMBLE: From English football legend David Beckham to billionaire philanthropist/co-founder of the Carlyle Group David Rubenstein, this year's conference will convene an eclectic but top-tier gathering of delegates. (Watch out for the full list of headlining attendees in Sunday's Playbook.)

Man of the moment: The big get for the conference is Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei, who will deliver a keynote speech Monday en espagnol (the first Spanish-speaking session to take place at Milken). Bill Clinton will close the conference Wednesday. 

Musk-watch: One name who has slipped onto the speaker list in recent days is Elon Musk, fresh from his deal-making visit to Beijing (and firing 500 Tesla staff). Let's see if the billionaire owner of X takes some time to catch up with his new pal Milei, following their first face-to-face meeting a few weeks ago in Texas after months of online bonding.

PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW

MEET THE FIRST PARTNER: Jennifer Siebel Newsom has many roles: actor, director, parent, wife. She's become best known as the other half of Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California since 2019.

Titles that matter: Just don't call Siebel Newsom "first lady." She has adopted the title of "first partner," as a mark of inclusivity. For the 49-year-old mother of four who has been married to the governor since 2008, the decision was about carving out space for future opportunities. 

One day, "we will have a female governor in California, we will have an LGBTQ+ governor," she told Playbook in an interview. "I wanted to anchor that notion of inclusivity and the vital role of partnership in leadership."

Gender equity: Siebel Newsom, who has leaned into a more activist role in Californian affairs from the governor's mansion in Sacramento, has put equality at the heart of her policy platform. Among the initiatives she has championed is the California Partners Project, which focuses on California's Senate Bill 826, a landmark law mandating that publicly held companies in the state have at least one woman on their board.

Another is the California Equal Pay pledge, which has seen hundreds of companies headquartered in California, including global giants like Apple and Salesforce, commit to pay-gap analysis and examining their own promotion and hiring practices. 

Stats don't lie: Despite its reputation as a bastion of progressivism, the state still has work to do. "Californian women lose $87 billion annually to the wealth gap," Siebel Newsom says. "We have some, if not the strongest, pay laws in the country. If Californian women are still struggling to close that gap, and access finance for their companies or entrepreneurial endeavors, think about what's going on in the rest of the country."

Confronting the past: Siebel Newsom has also prioritized support for survivors of sexual assault, "and working towards strengthening our laws to hold perpetrators accountable." The issue is deeply personal. She testified against film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2022, in some of the most powerful and searing moments of his California trial. 

Latest developments: What is her response to the recent decision by New York's highest court to overturn Weinstein's felony sex crime charges? (He will face a retrial later this year.) Siebel Newsom says Weinstein remains "a serial, convicted rapist who should never see the light of day," adding "our court system needs to do better by and for survivors who are predominantly women and young children."

Thinking of the children: Siebel Newsom is also focusing her attention as first partner on children's rights, both through California's "Farm to School" universal school meals initiative and tackling the problem of youth mental health and technology. She will participate in a number of youth-focused visits in the LA area early next week, and will be a key speaker on a panel on digital media and youth mental health at Milken Monday.

CALIFORNIA AND BEYOND

LA FORECAST: Top of 23C/73F, cloudy.

WELCOME TO EARTHQUAKE MODE: It's not just the chaotic scenes at UCLA that are disrupting LA life this week. The greater Los Angeles area was hit by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake Wednesday. No damage was reported, but the Los Angeles Fire Department is now officially in "earthquake mode," necessitating an assessment of all critical infrastructure across the city. 

CINCO DE MAYO: May 5 traditionally marks Mexico's victory over France in 1862. There are few places outside Mexico where the annual holiday is celebrated with such gusto as California, with Mexicans constituting by far the largest immigrant group in the state. The Venice parade takes place today in the famous L.A. district, complete with Aztec dancers and Santa Monica cheerleaders. Kicks off 10 a.m.

DESERT RETREAT: Milken isn't the only gathering taking place this weekend. In the desert city of Sedona, Arizona, some of the big names in U.S. politics are gathering for the McCain Institute's 2024 Sedona Forum, which kicked off Friday. Among those attending: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Republican Senator Mitt Romney, and Dasha Navalnaya, the daughter of late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. 

WHAT WE'RE READING

BLINKEN BATS FOR TAIWAN: The World Health Organization's annual conference is still a few weeks away, but already pressure is building on the organization. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a preemptive statement this week, urging the WHO to allow Taiwan to participate in the World Health Assembly.

Background: Taiwan was allowed participate as an observer to the WHA from 2009 to 2016, but has since been blocked by China. "Taiwan's continued exclusion from this preeminent global health forum undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security," said Blinken.

PREPPING FOR XI: Europe's two most powerful leaders — French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz — met Thursday night in Paris for a secret dinner, the details of which were revealed by my POLITICO colleagues. They dined at chic La Rotonde, the French president's favorite brasserie, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Europe this weekend. Xi arrives in the French capital — his first visit since 2019 — on Sunday before traveling on to Hungary and Serbia. 

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Thanks to: Global Playbook Editor Zoya Sheftalovich and Stephan Faris.

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