Trump finds unlikely ally in longtime arch nemesis as Hollywood bleeds jobs
In an unusual alignment, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, one of President Donald Trump's most prominent political adversaries, publicly backed the president's call for federal tax incentives aimed at reviving Hollywood's film and television industry.
The two have clashed repeatedly since Trump's return to the White House, with Schiff having led the first impeachment effort against Trump during his first term. But on the issue of shoring up American entertainment production, Schiff said he stands in strong agreement.
"I am in strong agreement with the President," Schiff wrote on X. "Congress should immediately take up and pass a federal film tax incentive to bring back these good-paying jobs that we've lost to other countries."
"Let's work together — Republicans and Democrats — to get this done, and bring the movie magic back to America," he added.
Trump's push for federal intervention comes as Hollywood grapples with a sustained contraction that began in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent collapse of the streaming boom. The industry has shed roughly 49,000 jobs since 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The president announced his interest in federal production incentives after a meeting with actor Jon Voight, who serves as the U.S. special ambassador to Hollywood. In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the state of the entertainment capital as a "complete and total disaster" and urged congressional leaders to act quickly.
"Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America. It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America," Trump wrote. He added that Voight and others in the industry had recommended federal tax incentives "in order to Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!"
Despite the bipartisan tone, the path forward in Congress is complicated by the calendar. September is already shortened, October is consumed by midterm campaigning, and November opens a lame duck session — leaving a narrow window for legislative action before the end of the year.
The push also highlights California's struggle to remain competitive. The state Legislature moved this year to more than double its Film and Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million, adding new sweeteners designed to lure productions back. But Gov. Gavin Newsom attached a $5 million cap on state corporate tax credits over the next three years, a move industry experts have warned could blunt the program's effectiveness.
California still trails Georgia, which offers more than $1 billion in production tax breaks, and New York, which provides roughly $800 million. Canada and the United Kingdom also maintain generous incentive programs that have drawn productions away from the United States entirely.
Trump argued that the lack of competitive incentives is actively damaging the state. "There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly," he said.
Whether the unusual alliance between Trump and Schiff can translate into legislation before the congressional clock runs out remains an open question. For now, both sides appear to agree on the diagnosis, if not always on the politics surrounding it: that Hollywood's century-long reign as the nation's entertainment capital is faltering, and that restoring it will require a level of federal cooperation that has so far proven elusive.
