As swaths of Southern California burn, the state’s Republican members of Congress find themselves facing a dilemma. Blaming the fires on California’s liberal policies, President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders have proposed attaching assorted conditions to federal disaster aid — a move that, if taken seriously, threatens to delay recovery...
Trump Orders Putting ‘People Over Fish.’ Will He Succeed?
President Donald Trump lost no time Monday in advancing his agenda for California’s water supply with a “presidential action” intended to send more Delta water south to millions of Southern Californians and San Joaquin Valley farms. The memo calls on the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior...
CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?
That revving you hear from Sacramento is the sound of California’s Democratic leaders preparing to sue the tar out of the Trump administration. We’ve seen this all before. California sued the Trump administration 123 times between 2017 and 2021, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. It spent about $10 million a...
As Trump Declares Border Emergency, CA’s Targeted Immigrants Lie Low
Undocumented immigrants and their California families braced for the worst — and many told CalMatters they would go underground — as newly sworn-in President Donald Trump began issuing executive orders to enable what he promises will be the most massive deportation in U.S. history. “It’s draining my energy a lot, thinking...
Trump Wants to Deport Immigrants Accused of Crimes. CA Sheriffs Could Make It Easy
California sheriffs once again find themselves navigating a difficult political calculus on immigration as President Donald Trump begins his second term. They can enforce a state sanctuary law that some of them personally oppose, or they can roll out the welcome mat to federal immigration enforcement authorities whom Trump has...
California Abandons Diesel Truck Ban and 3 Other Clean-Air Rules Before Trump Is Sworn In
California has decided to abandon its groundbreaking regulations phasing out diesel trucks and requiring cleaner locomotives because the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to allow the state to implement them. State officials have long considered the rules regulating diesel vehicles essential to cleaning up California's severe air pollution and combating...
New California Bill Would Block Trans Females From Playing in Girls’ Sports
Days before a Kentucky judge blocked federal rules protecting LGBTQ students last week, California Assemblymember Kate Sanchez proposed similar changes to California law. On Jan. 6 she introduced a bill that would ban transgender females from playing on girls' sports teams with the California Interscholastic Federation. Congressional Republicans were on...
As LA Burns, Corruption Probe Leaves State Senate’s Insurance Committee Chair Vacant
As fires rage through Southern California and exacerbate the state’s insurance crisis, the California Senate has no one in charge of its Insurance Committee due to questions surrounding a federal corruption investigation. Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said he is waiting to hear from federal prosecutors about Sen. Susan Rubio, who’s been questioned...
LA Fires Underscore How Much CA Has to Lose if Trump Withholds Disaster Aid
As wildfires erupted in Southern California, so did a years-long feud between incoming president Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly threatened to cut off disaster funding for California. He stopped short of that on Wednesday, but in a social media post, he called Newsom...
CA Infernos In January? Why Wildfire Season Is Longer and More Devastating
As climate change warms the planet, wildfires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege — even fire pandemic. California has 78 more annual "fire days" — when conditions are ripe for fires to spark — than 50 years ago. When is California's...