November 8th 2024.
After a decisive victory for Donald Trump in the presidential election, the state of California, led by Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials, is gearing up to push back against the president-elect's plans for his second term. With California being a deep blue state, the officials are concerned about potential attacks on reproductive rights, climate measures, healthcare programs, and undocumented immigrants.
To prepare for this, Newsom has directed state lawmakers to hold a special session next month. The session will focus on strategizing how to respond to Trump's agenda, and Newsom has urged the legislature to allocate additional funding for the California Department of Justice to anticipate potential legal battles against the Trump administration.
"We won't sit idle while the freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack," Newsom stated in a press release. "We have faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond."
During his campaign, Trump made promises to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, roll back environmental regulations, remove LGBTQ protections, and even send the military into cities run by Democrats. With his sweeping electoral victory and Republicans likely to hold majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, Trump seems emboldened to push aggressively for his agenda.
"I will govern by a simple motto: promises made, promises kept," he declared during his acceptance speech in Florida on Tuesday.
However, California has had some success in stopping Trump's plans and policies during his first term. The state has filed over 120 lawsuits against the Trump administration and has won several key cases, such as preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, defending clean air rules, and protecting abortion access at federally-funded clinics.
At a news conference against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that his office has already prepared draft litigation and has been coordinating with other state attorneys general in anticipation of a Trump victory. The details of these efforts are still unclear.
Bonta confidently stated that California has won the majority of cases it filed against the Trump administration during his first term and is prepared to do so again. "We are ready, we are prepared, and we have thought through all the possibilities of attacks on our values and our state," he declared.
On the other hand, state Republicans have dismissed Newsom and Bonta's actions as a political stunt to distract from the Democrats' losses not only in Washington, D.C., but also in California.
"Even with the massive deficit he created, Governor Newsom wants to hand his Attorney General a blank check to wage endless battles against the federal government – while our own state is on fire, both literally and metaphorically," said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones from San Diego, referring to the ongoing Mountain Fire in Ventura County.
Legal experts and officials predict that clashes between California and Trump could arise over issues such as a national abortion ban, restrictions on abortion medication, revoking the state's ability to regulate automobile emissions, weakening gun laws, cutting funding to healthcare programs like Medi-Cal and Obamacare, banning transgender athletes in women's sports, and ending protections for undocumented immigrants.
Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University who specializes in state lawsuits against the federal government, stated that Democratic attorneys general across the country are preparing an "unprecedented amount of litigation" to file on the first day of the Trump administration.
He also believes that California will continue to seek regulatory agreements and settlements directly with industries, such as automakers and energy companies, to defend its climate policies. In 2019, the state signed agreements with major car manufacturers to comply with California's emissions standards.
According to Nolette, California, with one of the largest economies in the world, could also seek climate pacts with other countries, such as in Europe or Canada, even if the Trump administration withdraws from international climate accords.
"This can largely run independently of what's happening in Washington and gives an opportunity to really advance California's goals," he explained.
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