California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday called a special legislative session so the state could prepare for potential conflicts with the Trump administration.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” he said in a statement. “California has faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond. We are prepared to fight in the courts, and we will do everything necessary to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive.”
The state, which frequently sued to protect various policies challenged by the Trump administration, reportedly began preparing for a potential Trump win over the summer, with the attorney general’s office pre-writing briefs and planning potential legal strategies.
State leaders are looking to increase funding for litigation and disaster aid, two areas where additional resources could be needed under the incoming Trump administration.
Trump has given plenty of indications he will single out California as well as potentially roll back key policy priorities of the liberal state.
In October, Trump suggested he would hold back disaster aid if it didn’t go along with the Republican’s priorities on water policy.
“We’re going to take care of your water situation and we’ll force it down [Gavin Newsom’s] throat and we’ll say, ‘Gavin if you don’t do it we’re not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires that you have’,” Trump said at a rally in Coachella, California.
The Trump administration is also likely to reject California’s nation-leading clean air and environmental rules, which have called for a ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 and a prohibition of diesel-powered vehicles at state ports around the same time.
California is also home to more immigrants than any other state, and Trump has called for harsh new restrictions on immigration, including a return to his Muslim ban and “remain in Mexico” policies, as well as the end of birthright citizenship, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and a mass deportation operation.
The state sued the previous Trump administration 123 times over issues like preserving DACA, Obamacare, and state clean air rules.
