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FILE ART – Traffic backs up on Interstate 5 on August 15, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to a report that indicated President Donald Trump wanted to host a “vanity parade” in California that could involve Navy warships shooting live missiles, and the subsequent closure of Interstate 5, by calling the idea an “absurd show of force.”

I-5 won’t shut down

But after a half-day of back-and-forth between Newsom and the White House, it seems as if all talk of shutting down I-5 this weekend will not take place. 

Late Wednesday, the U.S. Marine Corps said its large military celebration planned for this weekend at Camp Pendleton in San Diego would not close any public highway. 

‘Marine Corps spectacle’

The I-5 closure idea began shortly after MeidasTouch broke the news about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, reporting that sources told their reporters that the White House was going to shut down a portion of the highway in Southern California for Vice President JD Vance’s “Marine Corps spectacle” during Saturday’s No Kings Protest.

MeidasTouch is a self-described “pro-democracy” journalism company. 

‘Absurd show of force’

About 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Newsom shared that report, adding that if this were to occur, it would be an “absurd show of force, and totally uncalled for during a government shutdown while members of the military cannot even get a paycheck.”

Newsom added in all caps: “PUT ASIDE YOUR VANITY PARADE AND PAY OUR TROOPS INSTEAD.”

FILE ART – Camp Pendleton (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

‘Fake news’

Roughly four hours later, William Martin, special assistant to the president and spokesperson for the vice president, wrote on social media that the report was “fake news.”

Martin said the Marine Corps said they are not shutting down I-5, and that the event at Camp Pendleton in San Diego is a training exercise. 

Martin shared a news release from the Marine Corps that said there will be a “live-fire Amphibious Capabilities Demonstration” at Red Beach, Camp Pendleton and a community beach bash at Del Mar beach on Saturday to mark the Marines’ 250th birthday. 

Safety protocols 

“All training events will occur on approved training ranges and comport with safety protocols,” the Marines stated in their release shared on X on Wednesday at 9:54 p.m. “No public highways or transportation routes will be closed.” 

Camp Pendleton is the Marine Corps’ largest training facility on the West Coast, and includes a portion of undeveloped coastline and sits close to I-5. 

Newsom responded to the latest news on Thursday by writing on X that he is “relieved the White House backed off its plans to shut down a major interstate.

“Now that I-5 will stay open, we hope the Trump Administration applies that same common sense to reopening the federal government!”

Interstate 5 is the most-used of the two major north–south routes on the Pacific Coast, and links the major California cities of San Diego, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, Stockton, Sacramento, and Redding. The San Francisco Bay Area is about 80 miles west of the highway.

Vance, the first Marine veteran to serve as vice president, is expected to attend the event Saturday along with 15,000 Marines, sailors, veterans and their families, according to the news release. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also expected to attend and speak. 

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