A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has admitted that the governor used state resources in recent travel to Montana, despite a ban on state-funded travel to the state.

As Breitbart News reported earlier this week, CalMatters reporter Emily Hoeven, reported that Newsom was vacationing in Montana, where his wife, California First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has a family ranch.

However, Montana is one of nearly two dozen states on a state travel ban, due to the fact that it recently passed legislation protecting women’s sports from the involvement of biological men who identify as transgender women.

As Breitbart News noted:

Newsom’s office told Fox News that he was not violating the travel ban because his travel was personal. However, when asked whether any state funds were being spent to provide the governor with security and other support during his trip, the governor’s office declined to answer.

Newsom has been known to violate his own rules before. In November 2020, he famously dined with friends and lobbyists at the French Laundry restaurant in Napa after imposing coronavirus restrictions on restaurants in other counties.

Earlier this year, he took his mask off at SoFi Stadium during the NFC championship game to pose for photos, despite a local mask mandate for large events.

As the RedState blog pointed out, the New York Times obtained comment from Newsom’s office, which had initially declined to comment to CalMatters.

The Times reported: “[Anthony] York denied that Newsom’s office was being coy about his whereabouts, and said that the office was trying to balance transparency with safety. ‘On the security side, the law explicitly states there is an exemption for public safety, and the governor has to travel with security,’ he said.

However, the law’s exemption applies to travel for the “protection of public health, welfare, or safety,” not necessarily the safety of public officials.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.