California Gov. Gavin Newsom will convene the state Legislature for a special emergency session on Monday and propose a “anti-Trump” legal defense fund of up to $25 million to the state Department of Justice.
Newsom said in a statement that the Golden State is “the nation’s tentpole, protecting and investing in the rights and freedoms of all people,” adding that officials “work with the incoming administration to ensure that President Trump I hope that we will be successful in serving the American people.” ”
“But when there are excesses, when lives are threatened and rights and freedoms are targeted, we take action,” Newsom said. “And that’s exactly what this special session is about: setting this state up for success regardless of who is in the White House.”
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California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) has long been a critic of President-elect Donald Trump and is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate. (Getty/AP)
Democratic-controlled state lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation in the coming weeks. Officials expect the bill to be signed into law before Inauguration Day on January 20th.
“It’s not a resistance brand,” Newsom told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. “The key is realism. The key is preparedness. It would be foolish not to address this by January.”
From 2017 to 2021, the California Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits challenging Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. In one case, the federal government was ordered to repay about $60 million in public safety grants to California, Newsom’s office said.
California has filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, but President-elect Donald Trump has only filed four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, President Trump’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit over three sanctuary state laws in California that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That same year, Trump sued California over its state-level net neutrality law.
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The California State Capitol, shown in this 2022 photo, is scheduled to host a special legislative session in December 2024 called by Governor Gavin Newsom in response to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
President Trump also filed a lawsuit against California’s vehicle emissions standards in 2019, seeking to strip California of its ability to set its own emissions standards. The Trump administration also sued California in 2020 over the controversial AB5 independent contractor law.
California, a state that is a sanctuary for illegal immigrants and provides abortion services and transgender transition treatment for children, could become a target for the Trump administration, especially in light of President Trump’s plan to mass deport illegal immigrants.
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Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Brian Jones, the Senate minority leader, said last month that the special session was “obviously just a political stunt” and “an attempt to distract from the crushing Democratic losses across California on Tuesday.” This is a desperate attempt to do so.” State Senate, State Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives, and key ballot measures, including the defeat of Prop. 5 and the landslide victory of Prop. 36. ”
“Californians have made it clear that affordability is a top concern,” Jones said. “But Governor Newsom wants to give the attorney general a blank check to wage endless battles with the federal government — both literally and figuratively — even though he has created huge budget deficits. Even though our state is on fire.”
