Most presidents have a trusted aide who becomes nearly inseparable from their political life.
For Donald Trump, that figure is Natalie Harp. If California Gov. Gavin Newsom eventually runs for president and wins, some insiders believe he could turn to former Deputy Chief of Staff Lindsey Cobia, whom colleagues describe as fiercely loyal and willing to go to extraordinary lengths for him.
Some people have compared Cobia with Trump’s so-called “Human Printer,” Natalie Harp, the 35-year-old platinum blonde who works as Trump’s executive assistant and frequently accompanies the 80-year-old president at the White House and on the campaign trail.
Yet Cobia’s return to Newsom’s inner circle could reportedly create tension with his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Sources who have worked with the California governor described Cobia, 36, as Newsom’s “Swiss Army Knife” because of her broad influence and responsibilities. They also said she was considered unusually close to the governor, a dynamic that drew close scrutiny from the first partner.
“Jen told people she felt Lindsey was obsessed with her husband,” a longtime confidant of Siebel Newsom told Our News Outlet.
Another Newsom insider called the strained relationship “the worst-kept secret in California politics,” describing years of simmering tension between Cobia and the first partner.
Several episodes were cited as examples. Cobia was scheduled to travel to Scotland in October 2021 as part of the advance team for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, but Newsom canceled the trip at the last minute.
Then-California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom looks at a phone with Lindsey Cobia after a 2018 campaign stop. Cobia was his deputy campaign manager before becoming deputy chief of staff.
Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom attended the opening night of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in September. A longtime confidant said Siebel Newsom believed Cobia was obsessed with her husband.
The governor publicly said his children had staged an “intervention” and pleaded with him not to miss Halloween.
The conservative California Globe, however, reported that Newsom abandoned the Scotland trip after his wife learned Cobia would be there.
A former member of Newsom’s team confirmed to Our News Outlet that account, saying the first partner—who had been preparing to join the trip—“flipped out” after discovering Cobia was already on the ground making arrangements.
A separate dispute reportedly emerged in March, when Newsom detoured from his book tour to attend Jesse Jackson’s funeral in Chicago. Cobia accompanied him on the trip.
According to a Newsom confidante, his wife was upset that she had not been included, especially because she had her own connection to the civil rights leader. Jackson’s niece, Brenda Robinson, chairs Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, the Representation Project.
The confidante said Siebel Newsom’s objections were followed by Cobia’s quiet removal from her leadership position at the Campaign for Democracy, Newsom’s political action committee, which she joined in 2023.
Newsom’s consultants then arranged what was intended as a “soft landing,” placing Cobia as a strategist with Democrat Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign.
The move came at an especially unfortunate moment. Weeks later, Swalwell’s campaign unraveled amid sexual misconduct and assault allegations, which he has denied.
“Lindsey made herself irreplaceable,” a longtime colleague said, portraying Cobia as Newsom’s strategic partner on a wide range of political decisions. Twitter photo
The latest reported dispute came in March, after Newsom detoured from his book tour to attend Jesse Jackson’s funeral in Chicago. Cobia was on the trip.
Some insiders have compared Cobia with Trump’s “Human Printer,” Natalie Harp, pictured with the president.
Cobia later joined the gubernatorial campaign of Xavier Becerra as a senior adviser. Becerra, another Democrat, is widely viewed as the leading candidate to succeed Newsom, who is barred by term limits from seeking another term.
Whether Cobia would remain with Becerra if he wins the governorship is uncertain.
People familiar with the situation say Cobia remains frustrated by the loss of her responsibilities at Newsom’s political action committee, even though her contract technically runs into next year.
She has continued to perform some consulting work for Newsom but has seldom been seen with him since the spring.
Still, she could return to his operation if he pursues a presidential bid. According to the Newsom confidante, Cobia was approached about leading a new super PAC intended to support such a campaign.
Asked for comment, Newsom spokesman Izzy Gardon rejected the idea that the two had suffered a “falling out,” saying Cobia remains central to the governor’s political operation.
Gardon added that Newsom has made no decisions about staffing a potential presidential campaign or any outside group that might support it.
“This is nothing more than sexist gossip,” Gardon said. “Lindsey remains a senior adviser to the governor and a key part of his political operation.”
Gardon also dismissed what he called a “debunked conspiracy theory” surrounding the canceled Scotland trip.
He confirmed that Cobia traveled with Newsom to Chicago for the Jackson funeral, although she did not attend the service. Siebel Newsom also did not attend, Gardon said, explaining that other people accompanied the governor and that his wife’s absence resulted from “last-second logistical constraints.”
Cobia, 36, was once included on Capitol Hill’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list. Sources who worked with Newsom called her his “Swiss Army Knife.”
Lindsey Cobia’s husband, Michael Redding, was later appointed the governor’s deputy cabinet secretary for public safety.
Cobia, second from left, is pictured with her family on her wedding day.
Born in Texas and raised in the Bay Area, Cobia entered politics in 2012. She began as an intern for California Rep. Lynn Woolsey before becoming a staff assistant to House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer on Capitol Hill.
That year, at age 22, she was selected for The Hill’s “most beautiful” list.
“A cup of coffee with Lindsey Cobia is a light affair until you realize you’re in the presence of a pro,” a Hill reporter wrote in a flattering profile that referenced her earlier experience managing a coffee shop.
The profile also described Cobia as a devoted Harry Potter fan. She reportedly attended every film premiere dressed as Draco Malfoy, the series’ platinum-blond antagonist, whose hair resembled her own.
Cobia returned to California in 2016 to work for then-Lt. Gov. Newsom, managing the campaign behind his Proposition 63 gun-control ballot initiative.
One staffer compared her at the time to Tracy Flick, the relentlessly ambitious student-body presidential candidate played by Reese Witherspoon in the film “Election.”
“She’s Tracy Flick,” the staffer told Our News Outlet. “Intense, and willing to knock people over to get what she wants.”
Cobia later served as Newsom’s deputy campaign manager during his successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign. After he took office, she became his deputy chief of staff.
“Lindsey made herself irreplaceable,” a longtime colleague said, describing her as a strategic partner involved in virtually every category of political decision-making.
“She was a utility player—communications, press, strategy and politics,” another source said. “You name it, Lindsey had a hand in it.”
She also managed Newsom’s social media accounts and drafted statements that were published in the governor’s name.
“Lindsey is very good at her job, highly skilled and extremely effective at keeping the operation moving,” one source said. “There were clear reasons Newsom wanted her nearby. She was deeply loyal to him.”
Some people in Newsom’s orbit, however, said the pair sometimes appeared unusually close, raising concerns about how the relationship looked from the outside.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, far left, is pictured with Gavin Newsom and their four children (Source: Jennifer Siebel Newsom/Instagram)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom attend the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago.
One source recalled seeing the governor and his deputy chief of staff together at the governor’s mansion on a couple of occasions, opening a bottle of wine after other staff members had left for the evening.
“There was chatter,” a former Newsom official said.
Another insider said Cobia was not flirtatious, but acknowledged that she could appear “a little too close” to the governor in certain settings.
Our News Outlet found no one who claimed to have seen the pair cross a physical boundary, and no evidence of an affair was presented. Nonetheless, speculation reportedly circulated, including within Newsom’s own political circle.
One insider said the rumors were amplified by Newsom’s past relationship with an attractive blonde staff member, referring to the affair he acknowledged while serving as San Francisco mayor.
His relationship with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, who was married to Newsom’s campaign manager Alex Tourk, nearly ended his political career after it became public in 2007.
Siebel Newsom, who was dating Newsom at the time, later faced pressure to apologize after blaming Rippey-Tourk for the affair.
Gavin Newsom listens to a woman while campaigning for governor in San Francisco in 2018. Lindsey Cobia stands nearby holding a Starbucks cup.
Ruby Rippey Gibney, formerly Ruby Rippey-Tourk, was the staffer involved in Gavin Newsom’s 2007 affair when he was mayor of San Francisco.
Cobia joined Newsom’s orbit in 2016. She was engaged at the time to Michael Redding, a career prosecutor whom she married the following year. Redding later joined the administration as deputy cabinet secretary for public safety.
“Throughout those eight years, there was an ongoing conflict between the governor’s spouse and his closest personal staff member,” a former staffer said.
The former staffer said colleagues often heard Siebel Newsom complain about Cobia, asking questions such as, “Why is she with him?” “Why does she have so much power?” and “Why isn’t she posting photos that include me?”
“Every six months to a year, there would be some kind of blowup involving Jen,” the staffer said, pointing to the Scotland trip as one example.
“A lot of meetings had been scheduled, then there was a major internal blowup. He canceled the trip, and after that everything went quiet.”
Another Newsom insider claimed Cobia had more influence over the governor’s schedule, movements and public remarks than Newsom’s spouse did.
“At election-night gatherings, Lindsey wasn’t even supposed to be in the room when Jen was there,” the insider said.
After five years in the governor’s office, Cobia moved in 2023 to lead Newsom’s political action committee, where she focused on helping Democrats compete in Republican-leaning states.
The change was welcomed by some people inside the administration.
“She was no longer in the immediate mix the way she had been, which was a good thing,” one insider said.
Cobia nevertheless continued working for Newsom as a senior political adviser and campaign strategist.
Our News Outlet has contacted Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Lindsey Cobia for comment.
