Democrats move to ‘protect’ CA from Trump

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California Democrats and their allies are battening down the hatches for Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

On Thursday Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special session to prepare the state for likely legal challenges against the Trump administration, write CalMatters Capitol reporters Jeanne Kuang and Alexei Koseff. During Trump’s first term, the state sued the federal government more than 100 times, and is expected to come to blows again over regulations on reproductive rights, immigration, gun control and more.

But taking the feds to court doesn’t come cheap. The session, which will begin Dec. 2 when the new Legislature is sworn in, will mostly focus on approving funding for California’s Department of Justice and other state agencies — perhaps as much as $100 million — to file “robust affirmative litigation.” 

Attorney General Rob Bonta doubled down on the effort at a press event Thursday in San Francisco. Standing next to a “Progress will prevail” sign, Bonta said California is a “constant, unwavering, immovable force to be reckoned with.”

• Bonta: “We’ve lived through Trump 1.0. … We know to take Trump at his word when he says he’ll roll back environmental protections, go after our immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, attack our civil rights and restrict access to essential reproductive care.”

Republican lawmakers were quick to denounce the special session, calling it “immature and divisive” and a “publicity charade.” Corona Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who often trolls Democrats, said Congress should convene as soon as Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20 and cut off all federal funding to California over immigration.

• GOP Senate leader Brian Jones of San Diego, in a statement: “The governor’s job is to run California, not push his political agenda across the country. Newsom is clearly using his position to bolster his name ID for his dream of running for president in 2028.”

Learn more about Newsom’s special session in Jeanne and Alexei’s story.

Trump’s second term could also impact California’s:

• Environment: California’s clean air, climate change, water and various other environmental initiatives depend on cooperating with the federal government. As CalMatters’ environment reporters explain, California is gearing up for potential clashes that could involve Trump withholding wildfire aid and obstructing current state law to reduce emissions from cars. Trump could also bypass federal rules to force the state to export more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California, which could endanger wildlife.

• Homelessness programs: Experts are worried that Trump will slash federal funds for state homelessness programs, reports CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall. And while Trump and Newsom agree on clearing encampments, the new administration could nonetheless force California to scrap its current housing first framework requiring housing providers to accept unhoused people even if they use drugs or alcohol.

• Public education: As one of his first acts in office, Trump has pledged to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, which could result in a $7.9 billion loss of federal funding for California schools. Under this threat, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond plans to hold a press conference today urging Trump and Congress to reaffirm their commitment to public education.

It’s a blessing and curse of California elections: Every registered voter gets a ballot in the mail, and they get counted as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day and arrive at county elections offices a week later.

That gives voters every opportunity to have their say. But it also means that it takes a while to count all the ballots — and winners don’t get declared in close races for days, even weeks. For instance, four of the 10 statewide ballot propositions are still undecided, as well as key races that could determine control of Congress.

• Secretary of State Shirely Weber, in a statement Thursday: “Doing it right takes precedence over doing it fast. The time taken to process ballots ensures voters’ rights and the integrity of the election.”

Thursday, her office released its first report estimating how many ballots are left to count in all 58 counties — nearly 5.5 million, including 956,000 in Los Angeles County, 494,000 in San Diego and 460,000 in Alameda. 

More than 10.7 million ballots have been processed so far. That’s up from 8.6 million just before midnight on Tuesday, according to the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. It’s tracking day-to-day changes in the overall tally statewide and the vote counts in several close congressional and legislative races.

Counties have until Dec. 5 to certify their election results, and the Secretary of State will certify on Dec. 13.

After the 2022 election, California’s Legislature became the most diverse ever with a record number of women and LGBTQ lawmakers.

Based on the returns so far, this week’s election could produce gender parity, writes CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Sameea Kamal. At least three more women will join the 40-member Senate, raising the number to 21 — the first time at least half the Senate will be women. 

Counting the Assembly, there are currently 50 women among the 120 legislators. The election could bump up that number to at least 55 and as many as 60. 

The new female lawmakers are part of a huge turnover in the Legislature, but with 39 million California residents, fully representing the state’s population is a tall order. The race for the 57th Assembly District, for example, highlighted the growing Latino population within the historically African-American area. And while Latinos make up 40% of the state’s population, they only make up about a third of the Legislature.

Learn more about women in the Legislature in Sameea’s story.