State lawmakers will discuss Monday in a special session focused on a proposed $25 million litigation fund to respond to President-elect Donald Trump's anticipated attacks on California policies on civil rights, climate change and abortion access.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked the Legislature to approve funding for the Justice Department and other agencies so the state can file lawsuits against the federal government and defend itself from litigation by the Trump administration.
“California is the center of the country: from the economy to innovation and protection and investment in rights and freedoms for all people. “We will work with the incoming administration and want President Trump to be successful in serving all Americans,” Newsom said in a statement Sunday. “But when there are excesses, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are attacked, we will take measures. And that is exactly what this special session is about: setting this state up for success, regardless of who is in the White House.”
Democratic lawmakers have so far responded to Newsom's request with two bills that will be considered as part of the special session.
Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) introduced legislation to set aside $25 million for legal fees plus an additional $500,000 to cover the costs of “initial case preparation.”
“While we always look forward to collaborating with our federal partners, California will be ready to vigorously defend our interests and values against any unlawful actions by the incoming Trump administration,” Gabriel, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said in a statement. . “We know from President-elect Trump's statements (and from the more than 120 lawsuits California filed during the first Trump administration) that we must be prepared to defend ourselves. “They're not going to catch us off guard.”
If approved, Newsom's office said, the $25 million legal fund would not only “help safeguard critical funds for disaster relief, health care programs and other vital services” for millions of Californians, but also provide funds legal to protect access to abortion, the climate. change policies, LGBTQ+ rights and disaster financing.
The Democratic governor called a special session of the Legislature in the wake of Trump's election victory last month, saying that during his first term in the White House, the former president changed federal policies in ways that harmed California and its residents.
Newsom said at the time that his administration anticipated that the incoming president could seek to limit access to abortion medications, implement a national ban on abortion, dismantle environmental protections for clean air and water, repeal the Deferred Action for Arrivals program Children and withhold federal funds for disaster response. , among other promises Trump made during the campaign.
The governor's move is largely symbolic: Lawmakers are likely to pass the legislation at the same rate as they would without the special session. But some saw it as a way to focus the state Legislature's attention on Newsom's priority of fending off Trump. Republicans were quick to dismiss the measure as political theater.
In the days following Trump's election in 2024, Newsom signaled that he planned to wage an aggressive and highly visible campaign to protect the state from the Trump White House.
Over a four-year period ending in 2021, California filed 122 lawsuits challenging then-President Trump's authority to change federal policies on immigration, health care, education, gun control, consumer protection, the census, the Postal Service. USA and civil rights issues.
But more recently, the governor has tried to tone down his rhetoric and reshape the California anti-Trump narrative he set in motion, telling the Times in an interview that the special session is “about pragmatism” and “about preparation.” .
“We would be foolish not to get to work before January,” he said.
Newsom and legislative leaders have repeatedly said they are ready to work with the incoming president.
On Monday, lawmakers are scheduled to gather in the Senate and Assembly chambers to take the oath of office. Lawmakers typically leave Sacramento after the ceremony to spend the holidays in their districts before returning early in the year.
Lawmakers hope to begin hearing and voting on special session legislation when they return on Jan. 6. Newsom wants to sign the bills into law before Trump's inauguration on January 20.
Times staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report.
