California Democrats passed legislation providing the Golden State with millions of dollars to thwart President Donald Trump’s vision for the country.
On Monday, the Democratic-controlled state Assembly approved a pair of bills reserving $25 million dollars to fund the state’s Justice Department’s potential lawsuits against the Trump administration. Lawmakers doled out another $25 million to legal nonprofits supporting illegal immigrants who could be deported under the Trump administration. The Assembly’s move came after the state senate had previously approved the measures last month.
The votes came during a special legislative session Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) ordered immediately after Trump won a second term in November. Newsom warned that “the freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack.” He is expected to sign the bills into law shortly.
In a speech seeking to justify the $50 million effort to target the president’s agenda, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas referenced Trump’s slew of executive orders, which include multiple immigration reform measures and steps to remove people in the country illegally who have committed crimes.
“Given the many executive orders that have been issued over the past two weeks, I can say with clarity: We do not trust President Donald Trump,” Rivas said. “Right now, Californians are being threatened from an out-of-control administration in Washington. It is our duty to rise to the moment.”
Likewise, Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains said that while she had initially harbored “real questions” about whether approving millions was “responding to a serious threat or simply trying to score some cheap political points,” the first weeks of the second Trump administration “erased any doubts that I may have had.”
SBX1-1, which was spearheaded by State Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, provides up to $25 million to the state Department of Justice to block Trump’s agenda in the courts.
The same Democratic lawmakers pushed through SBX1-2 to allocate $25 million for non-profit organizations to provide legal aid to nearly two million people in California without legal status. That bill passed after Republicans had fought and failed to include amendments in the legislation that would ensure none of the funds would be used for people in the state illegally who have committed crimes.
“Without these amendments, state resources could still flow to organizations that obstruct federal efforts to bring these criminals to justice,” Republican Assemblywoman Leticia Castillo warned. “Protecting our communities and ensuring that criminals face the consequences of their actions should not be a partisan issue.”
California Republicans slammed their Democratic colleagues for pushing the $50 million bill through on Monday.
“For this body to appropriate $50 million to sue and block and obfuscate the president of the United States, I think, is outrageous,” Assemblyman Bill Essayli said. “We need to be focused on the state of California.”
Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, has warned that states such as California that resist efforts to remove illegal immigrants could lose vital federal funding.
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“I’ll say this: President Trump has made it clear, we’re going to prioritize public safety threats and national security threats right out of the gate [because] they pose the most danger to this country. What governor or mayor doesn’t want public safety threats and national security threats out of their neighborhoods, out of their communities?” Homan said during an interview with Fox News’s Mark Levin in November. “That’s their number one responsibility. So you can hate Trump all you want, but you gotta love your community more than you hate President Trump.”
California spent roughly $42 million on 123 lawsuits against the Trump administration during the president’s first term.