SACRAMENTO – California lawmakers gathered at the state Capitol on Monday to draft a plan to protect the country from President-elect Donald Trump's policies, including his vows to end environmental protections and begin mass deportations.
The purpose of the special legislative session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom is setting up a $25 million fund for legal challenges to federal policies the governor said would “hurt the country,” including when it comes to civil rights, abortion access and immigration.
But with Trump's return as president, the politics of leading the opposition are complicated as Democrats examine how they lost the White House and debate why Trump's support in California has increased since the 2020 election despite his criminal convictions, pattern of lies and his role in government. Uprising in the US Capitol after his loss to President Biden.
Legislative leaders – under pressure to prove that the special session is more than just a political platform, as some Republicans suspect – have tried to balance their concerns about a second term for Trump with important state issues such as the rising cost of living.
As the Legislature welcomed 35 new members — including a record number of women — Democrats, who retain the largest number, said the legislative overhaul was a necessary step. During Trump's first term as president, California filed more than 100 lawsuits against the federal government, winning protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children and receiving clean air laws.
“If Washington, DC, refuses to address climate change in the next four years, mark my word that California will continue to lead as we always have,” Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) said on the Senate floor Monday. “Because here in the Golden State, we strive to lift up everyone, no matter where you come from, no matter your skin color, who you are, who you love and how you identify.”
As lawmakers introduce bills that strengthen abortion rights and affirm California as Trump's opposition, California leaders are increasingly angry in their messaging and focus on bipartisan pocketbook issues.
“Our members feel that the state of California is working for them,” Congressional Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) said Monday, pointing to last month's election, where voters rejected progressive measures and repealed prison reform laws.
Rivas lowered the debt limit allowed for introduction and asked that all proposals be focused on “buying and prosperity.”
The speaker vowed to continue to protect Californians from any federal abuse of their rights.
“When LGBTQ people are attacked, when hardworking immigrants are targeted, when women's reproductive freedom is threatened, we will fight back with everything we have,” Rivas said.
California Atty. General Rob Bonta said that if the Legislature approves this legal fund, it will be used to pay lawyers and other workers who are ready to take legal action immediately if Trump does anything the state believes is illegal.
The proposed $25 million is “a start,” Bonta said.
“If there are no cases to bring because the Trump administration is working legally, we will not use it. We don't expect that, based on what he's done in the past – what he's said he's going to do,” Bonta said at a press conference in Sacramento on Monday. “Under Trump 2.0, we believe we will need to use it all.”
California has been here before. Eight years ago, the legislative session began with the same slogan, as the Democrats rushed to thwart Trump's policies, introducing bills that aimed to protect immigrants from threats of deportation similar to the proposals from the administration now.
“Californians don't need medical treatment. We need to fight back,” said then-Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) in December 2016, calling then-Trump appointees “white nationalists and antisemites” who “have no business working in the White House.”
Republicans tried to block approval of the special session that began Monday, painting it as an out-of-touch strategy and urging Democrats to avoid panic and resist lobbying the federal government.
“The people of California sent a clear message this election season. They are done with the failure of the majority party to address the most important issues we face and are ready to return to focused, solution-oriented governance,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee). “We're very happy to see the people of California stand up to the Democrat machine and say, 'Enough is enough.'
Even Newsom — Trump's staunch adversary — has changed his messaging after Republicans won the White House, Senate and House in the November elections. In a statement Monday, the governor said the special session is about “setting this state up for success” regardless of who is in the White House.
“We will work with the incoming administration, and we want President Trump to succeed in serving all Americans,” Newsom said. “But when there is exploitation, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action.”
Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) introduced a bill Monday that would eliminate taxes on car seats and baby wipes — a bill he said “pro-family” Republicans should support. He said members of his party must “slow down” as he promises to lead the opposition to Trump, and focus on policies that help people instead of talking points.
“I think it's different this time. “No one is growing their base attacking Trump right now,” Bryan said. “You can do real policy work and not just play politics.”
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