By Lynn La | CALmatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders plan to set aside $50 million in state money to pay for the legal costs of fighting President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
The deal comes two months after Newsom first called a special session on how to address Trump’s presidency.
The Assembly is expected to consider a bill that would set aside $25 million for “robust affirmative litigation” by the state’s Department of Justice, which will likely come to blows with Trump over California’s environmental policies, abortion access, protections for LGBTQ+ students and more.
Democratic state officials also plan to push back if Trump follows through with his threats to conduct mass deportations, which advocates and economists say would disrupt families and devastate California’s economy. Another bill in the Senate would allocate $25 million for local efforts that provide legal aid services related to immigration defense, as well as other disputes including wage theft, evictions and workplace protections.
Republican legislators have criticized the special session as divisive and denounced the deal on Sunday. In a statement, Assembly GOP leader James Gallagher of Chico argued the state would be creating a “slush fund” for “hypothetical fights” and to “defend criminal illegal immigrants.”
Floor votes for the budget proposals could come as early as this week, reports Politico, which would enable Newsom to approve them before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
All unspent money from the agreement will be returned to the state’s general fund, according to a spokesperson for Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and chairperson of the budget committee.
During Trump’s first term, California spent at least $41 million suing the administration, which mostly went to paying attorneys, legal secretaries and other justice department workers.