A nonprofit government ethics watchdog group is calling on the State of California’s auditor to investigate Governor Gavin Newsom’s deal to provide free diapers to new parents at participating hospitals.
The outgoing governor and 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful rolled out the first-in-the-nation program just before Mother’s Day, partnering with California-based nonprofit Baby2Baby to provide 400 diapers to families, an effort that Newsom touted as a solution to “affordability” during the rollout.
We’re giving 400 diapers to new California families when they leave the hospital. And we’re rolling out the program to those who need them the most first.
As if the stresses of having a child weren’t enough — the cost of diapers has gone up 45% since the pandemic. Families… pic.twitter.com/nf7rAEjuoN
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 11, 2026
“Ahead of Mother’s Day, Governor Gavin Newsom announced today that the state is partnering with Baby2Baby, a leading national nonprofit organization headquartered in California, to launch a first-in-the-nation program to provide free diapers to all new babies born in California,” Newsom’s office said in a May 8 press release. “Leveraging the bulk purchasing power of the state, this new effort known as Golden State Start will distribute high-quality, mass-produced diapers directly to families through participating hospitals statewide.”
But the program quickly drew scrutiny for what some suggested was cronyism, with the co-CEO of Baby2Baby, Norah Weinstein, sitting on the board of the California Partners Project, Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit organization.
The potentially stinky deal has led to the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, reaching out to California State Auditor Grant Parks to look into the $6.2M no-bid contract, “alleging the state may have skirted a typical competitive bidding process and concealed records about the free diaper deal,” the New York Post reported.
Questions mount over Gavin Newsom’s $12M diaper deal as ethics watchdog demands state audit https://t.co/SWLPnAQI8v pic.twitter.com/v6LhNrELJU
— California Post (@californiapost) July 13, 2026
“Immediately after the contract was announced, there were public concerns over whether the contract was awarded in a fair and impartial manner and whether the state was overpaying for the diapers and the program was operated at an unreasonable cost,” FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold wrote in a letter to the Golden State’s auditor, according to the paper.
“The facts relating to both of these issues should have been publicly available, but the Newsom administration has been misleading about whether the contract was awarded in a competitive process and has mired the entire situation with a complete lack of transparency,” Arnold said.
“California families deserve to feel supported during one of life’s more exciting, yet vulnerable transitions. Golden State Start will deliver immediate relief, allowing parents to focus on what matters most – caring for their newborn. Together with Baby2Baby, we can ease the financial burden on California parents while supporting healthier outcomes for babies and their mothers,” Mrs. Newsom said in a statement announcing the new program.
The Newsom administration is stonewalling media requests for documentation on the diaper deal and was blasted by GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton over the lack of transparency.
Gavin Newsom’s corrupt machine is in full cover-up mode.
He awarded a taxpayer-funded “free diapers” contract to the Baby2Baby NGO and is now illegally stonewalling CBS LA’s public records request for 56 days—past every legal deadline—refusing to release the executed contract,… https://t.co/vf8Ox0FRWF
— Steve Hilton For Governor (@TeamSteveHilton) July 12, 2026
“Gavin Newsom’s corrupt machine is in full cover-up mode,” Hilton wrote in a post to X. “He awarded a taxpayer-funded “free diapers” contract to the Baby2Baby NGO and is now illegally stonewalling CBS LA’s public records request for 56 days—past every legal deadline—refusing to release the executed contract, bids, scoring sheets, or anything else.”
“This isn’t transparency. It’s deliberate obstruction to hide fraud, cronyism, and money laundering by Sacramento insiders,” he added. “Californians are sick of Newsom’s elite grift while the state burns.”
FACT states that it’s “dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas by hanging a lantern over public officials who put their own interests over the interests of the public good.”
“We are dedicated to exposing unethical behavior and making sure it receives the attention it deserves. From completing a thorough investigation to employing an aggressive television, print, and social media strategy, FACT will not simply hope the truth comes out—we will ensure it does,” according to the watchdog’s website.
“I will say the optics of this vendor is not good at all,” Democrat California State Sen. Caroline Menjivar said of the diaper program at a hearing last month. “The administration and the governor are going to be gone, and we’re going to continue to get hit on this.”
Republican California State Sen. Tony Strickland suggested that the state is paying too much for the diapers.
“You can go to Target and find diapers for 16 cents apiece,” he told The Post in June. “That just shows the waste and inefficiency of government.”
Diapers and Newsom couldn’t be a more perfect match: both are full of crap.
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