Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Tensions Between Some Tahoe Residents and Wildlife Workers Become Unbearable

3 hours ago

California Republican Leader Calls for ‘Two State Solution’ Amid Redistricting Fight

4 hours ago

Three Dead in Minneapolis Shooting, Including Shooter, Justice Department Official Says

5 hours ago

Israeli Tanks Close in on Gaza City, Trump to Chair Meeting

6 hours ago

Wall Street Opens Muted in Countdown to Nvidia Earnings

6 hours ago

Fresno Leaders Voice ‘Full Support’ for Pismo’s Restaurant Manager in ICE Custody

23 hours ago

Poll: Katie Porter Holds Early Edge in California Governor’s Race

1 day ago

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

1 day ago

California Farming Couple Seeks $300 Million for Aspen Estate

1 day ago
Newsom, California Lawmakers to Begin Special Session to 'Trump-Proof' State Laws
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 9 months ago on
December 2, 2024

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers will return to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency.

The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.

California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times to various levels of success.

“We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” Newsom said at a recent news conference.

Trump Depicts California as What Is Wrong With America

Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. Democrats, which hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide.

Trump called the Democratic governor “New-scum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, homeless population and thicket of regulations.

Trump also waded into a water rights battle over the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that has pitted environmentalists against farmers and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly under threat from wildfires. He also vowed to follow through with his campaign promise of carrying out the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status and prosecuting his political enemies.

Before the special session begins, state lawmakers are scheduled to swear in more than two dozen new members and elect leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Hundreds of people also are planning to march around the Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Trump’s mass deportation plans.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will protect the state’s immigration population, while Newsom last week unveiled a proposal to revive a rebate program for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates a federal tax credit for people who buy electric cars. Newsom is also considering creating a backup disaster relief fund for the wildfire-prone state after Trump’s threats.

Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. Rep. Vince Fong, who represents the state’s Central Valley farm belt, said California should work with the incoming Trump administration instead.

“Gavin Newsom’s actions are tone-deaf to the concerns of Californians who disapprove of the direction of our state and country,” Fong said in a video on social media.

Lawmakers to Discuss How to Protect Dozens of Laws

Legislators also are expected to spend the year discussing ways to protect dozens of laws expected to be targeted by the Trump administration, including one that has made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions who live in states where such practices have been severely limited.

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 be electric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids. The state also extends state-funded health care to all low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.

Newsom hasn’t provided details about what actions the lawmakers will consider but said he wanted funding in place before Trump’s inauguration day, Jan. 20. The state spent roughly $42 million in litigation costs during the first Trump administration, officials said.

California is projected to face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, with bigger shortfalls ahead. Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who sued the first Trump administration in 2017 when it tried to end a program to shield young immigrants from being deported, said lining up the funding now is “a wise investment.”

California successfully clawed back $57 million between 2017 and 2018 after prevailing in a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from putting immigration enforcement conditions on certain federal law enforcement grants. Another legal victory over the citizenship question in the 2020 census forced the federal government to return $850,000 to the state, according to the attorney general’s office.

“We are positioned, if necessary, to be the tip of the spear of the resistance and to push back against any unlawful or unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration,” said Gabriel, who chairs the budget committee.

During Trump’s first presidency, Democratic attorneys general banded together to file lawsuits over immigration, Trump’s travel ban for residents of Muslim countries, the environment, immigration and other topics. But Trump has one possible advantage this time around: He was aggressive in nominating conservative jurists to federal courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Tax Bill Expands 0% Capital Gains Eligibility in 2025

DON'T MISS

Second-Highest Unemployment Rate Still In California

DON'T MISS

Trump Holds Gaza Policy Meeting With Blair and Kushner, White House Official Says

DON'T MISS

Commercial Vehicle Fire Closes Southbound I-5 Near Grapevine

DON'T MISS

Madera Man Faces Federal Charges for Firearm and Fake USPS Keys

DON'T MISS

Valley Hospitals Get Mixed Scores From Feds. See How Your Hospital Fared

DON'T MISS

Taylor Ward’s Home Run Surge Fueled by Hard Work, Fresno State Roots

DON'T MISS

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man Arrested for Throwing Sandwich at US Agent, Source Says

DON'T MISS

Planned Visit by US Envoy Sparks Protests in Southern Lebanon

DON'T MISS

Tensions Between Some Tahoe Residents and Wildlife Workers Become Unbearable

UP NEXT

Second-Highest Unemployment Rate Still In California

UP NEXT

Trump Holds Gaza Policy Meeting With Blair and Kushner, White House Official Says

UP NEXT

Commercial Vehicle Fire Closes Southbound I-5 Near Grapevine

UP NEXT

Madera Man Faces Federal Charges for Firearm and Fake USPS Keys

UP NEXT

Valley Hospitals Get Mixed Scores From Feds. See How Your Hospital Fared

UP NEXT

Taylor Ward’s Home Run Surge Fueled by Hard Work, Fresno State Roots

UP NEXT

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man Arrested for Throwing Sandwich at US Agent, Source Says

UP NEXT

Planned Visit by US Envoy Sparks Protests in Southern Lebanon

UP NEXT

Tensions Between Some Tahoe Residents and Wildlife Workers Become Unbearable

UP NEXT

California’s Environmental Agency Investigated by US Justice Department

Commercial Vehicle Fire Closes Southbound I-5 Near Grapevine

1 hour ago

Madera Man Faces Federal Charges for Firearm and Fake USPS Keys

1 hour ago

Valley Hospitals Get Mixed Scores From Feds. See How Your Hospital Fared

2 hours ago

Taylor Ward’s Home Run Surge Fueled by Hard Work, Fresno State Roots

2 hours ago

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man Arrested for Throwing Sandwich at US Agent, Source Says

2 hours ago

Planned Visit by US Envoy Sparks Protests in Southern Lebanon

3 hours ago

Tensions Between Some Tahoe Residents and Wildlife Workers Become Unbearable

3 hours ago

California’s Environmental Agency Investigated by US Justice Department

3 hours ago

California Republican Leader Calls for ‘Two State Solution’ Amid Redistricting Fight

4 hours ago

Fresno Police Find Two Narcotics Labs, Firearms in Southeast Home

4 hours ago

Trump’s Tax Bill Expands 0% Capital Gains Eligibility in 2025

CNBC reported that some investors could benefit from paying no federal taxes on certain investment profits in 2025 under President Donald Tr...

20 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One, as he departs for Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., August 15, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
20 minutes ago

Trump’s Tax Bill Expands 0% Capital Gains Eligibility in 2025

23 minutes ago

Second-Highest Unemployment Rate Still In California

President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
31 minutes ago

Trump Holds Gaza Policy Meeting With Blair and Kushner, White House Official Says

Southbound I-5 south of the Grapevine is closed as emergency crews respond to a fully engulfed commercial vehicle fire on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. (CHP)
1 hour ago

Commercial Vehicle Fire Closes Southbound I-5 Near Grapevine

Brian Hindman, 49, of Madera, was arrested Wednesday, August 27, 2025, on federal charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys. (DOJ)
1 hour ago

Madera Man Faces Federal Charges for Firearm and Fake USPS Keys

Kaiser hospital and VA hospital CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES
2 hours ago

Valley Hospitals Get Mixed Scores From Feds. See How Your Hospital Fared

Taylor Ward the Angels
2 hours ago

Taylor Ward’s Home Run Surge Fueled by Hard Work, Fresno State Roots

A person walks past signs depicting a man throwing a sandwich, used as a symbol of protest, after U.S. President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man Arrested for Throwing Sandwich at US Agent, Source Says

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend