(Sacramento) California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol Monday to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Donald Trump presidency.
Published yesterday at 11:50 p.m.
Tran Nguyen
Associated Press
The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of the president-elect, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a vigorous legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.
Democratic Rep. Jesse Gabriel introduced a bill Monday to set aside $25 million for legal fees to respond to the Trump administration’s potential attacks on state policies on civil rights, climate change, immigration and access to abortion.
“While we always look forward to working with our federal partners, California will be prepared to vigorously defend our interests and values against any illegal actions by the new Trump administration,” Gabriel said in a statement.
California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times with varying degrees of success.
“We will not be caught off guard,” assured Governor Newsom during a recent press conference.
Donald Trump often describes California as representing everything he sees wrong with America. Democrats, who hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans nearly twice to one. the state.
Mr. Trump nicknamed the Democratic governor “Newscum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold for its large number of immigrants illegal in the United States, its homeless population and its pile of regulations.
He also promised to keep his campaign promise to carry out mass deportations of immigrants without legal status and to pursue his political enemies.
“This special session is about standing up for Californians and California values,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco. “This is about making sure that the President of the United States and his administration actually follow the law.”
Hundreds of people also demonstrated around the Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Mr. Trump’s plans for a mass deportation. They carried banners reading “Not a cent for mass deportation” and “MAGA out of California.”
“With the results of the presidential election, we need our statewide elected officials to use every tool and resource they have to protect our immigrant Californians,” said protester Deborah Lee.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office would protect the state’s immigrant population. He also announced legislation Monday to strengthen reproductive rights in California, including allowing the attorney general to seek monetary penalties against local governments that violate those rights. The proposals are part of the state’s efforts to protect against threats to abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Republican lawmakers blasted the California governor and his Democratic allies over the special session. State Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican representing Murrieta in Southern California, said the special session proposal would cause California to have a more adversarial relationship with the federal government.
“What we’re doing today is sending exactly that message: We’re going to fight tooth and nail for everything. And you know what? That means they’re going to fight us tooth and nail for everything,” Mr. Seyarto argued of the incoming Trump administration if the legislation is approved.
The state spent about $42 million on legal fees during the first Trump administration, officials said.
California is expected to face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, with larger deficits to come.
During Trump’s first presidency, Democratic attorneys general banded together to file lawsuits on immigration, Mr. Trump’s travel ban on residents of Muslim countries, the environment, immigration and others subjects. But Donald Trump may have an advantage this time: He has been aggressive in appointing conservative lawyers to federal courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court.
Associated Press journalists Haven Daley and Sophie Austin contributed to this report.
