California governor proposes $25 million war chest for legal fights with Trump

By Judith Langowski

(Reuters) – California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday announced he is seeking up to $25 million in additional funding for legal fights with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The announcement came on the first day of a special session of the California legislature dedicated to preparing the liberal state for the second term of conservative Trump. If approved by the legislature, the California Department of Justice and state agencies would get the extra funding for court battles in areas such as reproductive rights, environmental protection and immigration.

“The new litigation fund will help safeguard critical funding for disaster relief, health care, and other vital services that millions of Californians depend on daily”, the governor wrote in the proposal. He added the state plans to “defend against unlawful federal actions that could jeopardize not only tangible resources and the state’s economy” as well as protection of reproductive health care and civil rights.

The fights could also force the federal government to pay needed funding, Newsom said in a statement, citing successful legal skirmishes with the federal government during the first Trump administration.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, also a Democrat, said in a press conference, that his agency would staff up to be able to react quickly to Trump administration action with motions for restraining orders and injunctions.

California spent $42 million to support litigation in Trump’s first term between 2017-2022. The state filed over 120 lawsuits challenging Trump Administration actions.

The state assembly also has introduced bills geared toward protecting access to abortion medication and enforcing the Reproductive Privacy Act, Bonta said.

Newsom’s office expects the special budget legislation to be signed into law before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

(reporting by Judith Langowski; editing by Peter Henderson and David Gregorio)