Ahead of another Trump administration, California Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol Monday to start a special session aimed at defending the state’s progressive policies.
As a fervent opponent of President-elect Donald Trump, the Democratic governor is setting up California to serve as the focal point of another resistance movement against the conservative agenda. In order to prepare for a fierce legal battle against expected federal challenges, he is requesting that the attorney general’s office receive more funds from his Democratic supporters in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both houses.
In response to possible attacks by the Trump administration on state laws pertaining to civil rights, immigration, climate change, and access to abortion, Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel filed legislation on Monday allocating $25 million for legal fees.
California will be prepared to tenaciously protect our interests and values from any illegal action by the new Trump Administration, Gabriel said in a statement, even while we always want to work with our federal colleagues.
California filed almost 120 lawsuits against the first Trump administration, with varying degrees of success.
At a recent press conference, Newsom declared, “We won’t be caught off guard.”
Trump frequently uses California as a metaphor for everything he believes is wrong with America. In California, Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by over two to one statewide, and they occupy all statewide offices and command significant majority in the Legislature and congressional delegation.
During a campaign speech in Southern California, Trump referred to the Democratic governor as “new-scum.” He has continued to attack the Democratic bastion for its high number of illegal immigrants, homeless population, and complicated regulatory framework.
Trump also entered a water rights dispute over the endangered delta smelt, a small fish that has sparked conflict between farmers and environmentalists and threatened to cut off federal assistance to a state that is facing an increasing threat from wildfires. In addition, he pledged to carry out his campaign pledge to prosecute his political rivals and deport large numbers of undocumented immigrants.
State lawmakers are expected to elect leaders for the 2025 legislative session and swear in around two dozen additional members prior to the start of the special session. In an attempt to persuade the Legislature to try to halt Trump’s plans for mass deportations, hundreds of people are also scheduled to march around the Capitol on Monday.
While Newsom last week announced a plan to resurrect an electric vehicle rebate program in the event that the incoming Trump administration removes a federal tax credit for electric vehicle purchases, State Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that his office will safeguard the state’s immigrant population. In response to Trump’s warnings, Newsom is also thinking about setting up a contingency disaster assistance fund for the state that is prone to wildfires.
During the special session, Republican lawmakers attacked Newsom and his Democratic supporters. California should instead cooperate with the new Trump administration, according to Rep. Vince Fong, who represents the state’s Central Valley farm belt.
In a social media video, Fong claimed that Gavin Newsom’s actions are tone-deaf to the worries of Californians who disagree with the course of our state and nation.
Additionally, lawmakers are anticipated to spend the year debating how to defend dozens of laws that the Trump administration is likely to target, including one that has turned the state into a haven for women seeking abortions who reside in jurisdictions where such procedures have been severely restricted.
The most populous state in the US, California, was the first to require that all new automobiles, SUVs, and pickup trucks sold there be plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles, or hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2035. Additionally, regardless of their immigration status, all low-income citizens are eligible for state-funded health care.
Newsom stated that he wants money in place prior to January 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration, but he has not specified what measures the legislature will take. According to officials, the state’s legal expenses during the first Trump administration came to almost $42 million.
Next year, California’s budget deficit is expected to be $2 billion, with larger deficits expected to follow. Arranging the funding now is a smart investment, according to Gabriel, who sued the first Trump administration in 2017 when it attempted to terminate a program that protected young immigrants from deportation.
After winning a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from attaching immigration enforcement requirements to certain federal law enforcement funding, California was able to recoup $57 million between 2017 and 2018. The attorney general’s office claims that the federal government was compelled to reimburse the state $850,000 as a result of another court ruling over the citizenship issue in the 2020 census.
“If needed, we are ready to lead the resistance and fight back against any illegal or unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration,” Gabriel, the budget committee chair, stated.
Democratic attorneys general united to bring legal action against Trump throughout his first term in office on a number of issues, including immigration, the environment, Trump’s travel ban for citizens of Muslim nations, and more. However, Trump may have an advantage this time around because he moved quick to nominate conservative judges to the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
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