SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators will convene a special session at the state Capitol on Monday to prepare for a second Trump presidency.
Governor Newsom, a vocal critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California as a focal point of resistance against a conservative agenda. He’s requesting his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities, to approve increased funding for the attorney general’s office to prepare for significant legal challenges anticipated from the federal government.
California has previously challenged federal policies over 120 times with varying degrees of success.
“We won’t be unprepared,” Newsom stated at a recent press conference.
Trump frequently portrays California as embodying everything he considers wrong with America. Democrats hold every statewide office in California and have substantial majorities in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumbering registered Republicans nearly 2-to-1.
Trump referred to the Democratic governor as “New-scum” during a [event unspecified] and has consistently criticized the Democratic stronghold for its significant immigrant population (including undocumented individuals), homeless population, and extensive regulations.
Trump also intervened in a water rights dispute concerning the [fish unspecified], a conflict pitting environmentalists against farmers, and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly threatened by wildfires. He also vowed to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and prosecuting political opponents.
Before the special session, state lawmakers are scheduled to swear in over two dozen new members and elect leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Hundreds are planning a Capitol march on Monday to urge the Legislature to oppose [policy unspecified].
State Attorney General Rob Bonta stated his office will protect the state’s immigrant population, while Newsom recently proposed reviving an electric vehicle rebate program should the incoming Trump administration eliminate federal incentives for electric vehicle purchases. Newsom is also considering creating [program unspecified] for the wildfire-prone state following Trump’s threats.
Republican lawmakers criticized Newsom and his Democratic allies regarding the special session. Representative Vince Fong, representing the state’s Central Valley farm region, stated California should cooperate with the incoming Trump administration instead.
“Gavin Newsom’s actions ignore the concerns of Californians who disapprove of our state and country’s direction,” Fong said in a social media video.
Legislators are also expected to discuss protecting state policies anticipated to be targeted by the Trump administration, including one making California a sanctuary state for those seeking abortions from states with restrictive laws.
California, the nation’s most populous state, was the first to mandate that by 2035, all new cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs sold in California must be electric, hydrogen-powered, or plug-in hybrids. The state also provides healthcare to all low-income residents regardless of immigration status.
Newsom hasn’t detailed the specific actions lawmakers will consider but stated he wanted funding secured before Trump’s inauguration on January 20th. The state spent approximately $42 million on litigation costs during the first Trump administration, according to officials.
California is projected to face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, with larger shortfalls anticipated. Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who sued the first Trump administration in 2017 for attempting to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation, said securing funding now is “a sound investment.”
California successfully recovered $57 million between 2017 and 2018 after prevailing in lawsuits to prevent the Trump administration from imposing immigration enforcement conditions on certain federal law enforcement grants. Another legal victory forced the federal government to return $850,000 to the state, according to the attorney general’s office.
“We are prepared, if necessary, to lead the resistance and oppose any unlawful or unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration,” said Gabriel, who chairs the budget committee.
During Trump’s first term, Democratic attorneys general collaborated on lawsuits concerning immigration, Trump’s travel ban targeting Muslim countries, environmental issues, and other topics. However, Trump has a potential advantage this time: his aggressive appointment of conservative jurists to federal courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court.