CA Proposes $35M To Fight Trump In Potential Legal Battles

CALIFORNIA — San Francisco Sen. Scott Wiener proposed to add $10 million on Monday to a bill intended to "Trump-proof" the state ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom had already proposed to send $25 million to aid a potential legal war with the Trump Administration earlier this week, Wiener introduced a bill to appropriate that money during Monday's special legislative session.

While Newsom wants to send $25 million to California Attorney General Rob Bonta to defend Golden State policies that Trump has vowed to dismantle, Wiener's $10 million would be sent to cities and counties to similarly "defend against Trump," the senator said. The additional funding would be distributed to city attorneys, county councils and community legal aid organizations.

“Shoring up our state agencies is absolutely critical, as is making sure that there is funding available for legal protections our cities and counties may need to safeguard local laws targeted by the new Administration. It’s our job to protect the most vulnerable in this state and that is exactly what this proposal will do,” Wiener said in a statement.

The bill proposes to use funding in anticipation of issues related to reproductive health, the state’s clean air, clean water and climate laws, immigrant rights and LGBTQ civil rights, according to a statement from Pro Tem Mike McGuire's office.

“We’re in the calm before the storm and we know the hurricane force winds are about to hit from the incoming federal administration—it’s time to get prepared and batten down the hatches," McGuire said. "This funding will help protect the people, policies, and progress of the Golden State along with our nation-leading economy."

California lawmakers gathered on Monday in Sacramento with Trump's incoming administration top of mind. Before the special session began, state lawmakers swore in more than two dozen new members and elected leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Lawmakers voted to convene the special session largely along party lines.

"The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle," Newsom said last month. "We are prepared to fight in the courts."

Trump called the Democratic governor “Newscum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, its homeless population and its thicket of regulations.

Trump also waded into a water rights battle over the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that has pitted environmentalists against farmers, and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly under threat from wildfires. He also vowed to follow through with his campaign promise of carrying out the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status and prosecuting his political enemies.

“This special session is about sticking up for Californians and for California values,” Wiener said. “It is about ensuring that the president of the United States and his administration actually follow the law.”

Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. State Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican representing Murrieta in Southern California, said the session would create a more adversarial relationship with the federal government.

“What we’re doing today is sending that exact message — that we are going to fight tooth and nail for everything. And you know what? That means they’re going to fight us tooth and nail for everything,” Seyarto said of the proposed legislation.

Last month, Newsom also vowed to offer state tax rebates for residents purchasing electric vehicles if Trump kills an existing federal EV tax credit.

"We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California," Newsom said.

READ MORE: CA To 'Intervene' If Trump Kills $7,500 Tax Credits

The Associated Press contributed to this report.