California Democrats have agreed to a $50 million deal to bolster state and local legal defenses against the incoming Trump administration, with half the money going to opposing any mass deportation plan the new president might carry out early in his administration, Politico reported Monday.
The move comes as Republicans harshly criticize state Democratic leaders for concentrating on the highly partisan issue even as the Los Angeles area suffers enormously from devastating fires.
The deal includes $25 million that California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed for the state Department of Justice to fight the federal government in court following Trump's reelection in November.
Another $25 million was proposed by state Senate leaders to defend immigrants against deportation, detention and wage theft. That would fund grants for legal nonprofits and immigration support centers.
Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, said in a statement that "this funding agreement cements California's readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda."
Floor votes on the special session package could take place as soon as this week, which would give Newsom time to sign the agreement before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Republicans have agitated for a special session focused only on the fires, and Newsom told "Pod Save America" over the weekend he's "happy to do whatever moves the needle forward" when asked about calling such a session.
Reacting to the deal, Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher said in a statement that "at a time when California should be laser focused on responding to the devastating wildfires in LA, Democrat lawmakers’ priority is creating a $50 million slush fund to hire government lawyers for hypothetical fights against the federal government and to defend criminal illegal immigrants from being returned to their home countries."
The provisions of the agreement emerged through amendments to four special session bills on Friday.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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