Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced that a pivotal stretch of the Interstate 10 freeway in Los Angeles is expected to open weeks ahead of schedule, marking the latest victory lap the Golden State governor has taken as he tries to flip his slipping approval rating in California.

An important part of the freeway in Los Angeles was severely damaged by an arson fire that began on Saturday morning. Newsom said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that all lanes of I-10 would be open on Tuesday.

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"All 5 lanes of the I-10 will be open to passenger and commercial traffic on Tuesday. This is earlier than our original estimate of 3-5 weeks thanks to the crews working around the clock to get this done," Newsom said.

Newsom's comments on the speedy repair of the Los Angeles freeway represent his latest chance to celebrate despite slipping poll numbers.

In a University of California, Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released last week, Newsom's approval rating fell underwater only a year after he won a landslide reelection bid in the Golden State. The results showed 49% of Californians polled disapprove of Newsom's job as governor, compared to only 44% who approve.

The pollster attributed Newsom's dropping approval rating to his "much more active role in national Democratic politics." Newsom has taken a victory lap over his recent highly publicized trip to China and received resounding praise from President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.

The Democratic governor's trip to China last month was a mission for climate change cooperation between the communist country and the Golden State. While in China, Newsom met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and earlier this week, he greeted Xi as he arrived in San Francisco for the APEC summit.

The California governor did receive criticism for his trip to China, with some pointing out that he did not press the country's government on human rights concerns. However, it did not appear to affect Newsom, as he claimed a win by championing the mutual understanding of climate change.

While in San Francisco during the APEC summit, Newsom received high praise from Biden, who joked the California governor could "have the job I'm looking for."

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"I want to talk about Gov. Newsom," Biden said on Wednesday during a reception for APEC leaders. "I want to thank him. He's been one hell of a governor, man. As a matter of fact, he can be anything he wants. He can have the job I'm looking for."

Newsom has denied that he will run for president in 2024, emphatically supporting Biden for a second term, but his recent moves have indicated he may be running a shadow presidential campaign if Biden were to drop out or is at the least gearing up for 2028.