A plan to fire live artillery shells over a major Southern California highway as part of a military showcase attended Saturday by Vice President JD Vance drew strong objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom , who said safety concerns forced him to close a portion of the busy interstate.

“The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous.”

But U.S. Marine officials said there was nothing unsafe about the exercise at Camp Pendleton, where firing off artillery is a routine occurrence, and that it was unnecessary to disrupt traffic on Interstate 5, which is the main highway along the Pacific coast between San Diego and Los Angeles.

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