California appears poised to return to its role as a foil for President-elect Donald Trump.
"Trump mentioned that his campaign was a campaign to protect America," California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas told Politico. "What you can expect is California will do everything we can to protect America from Donald Trump."
California Attorney General Rob Bonta already instructed his team to draft a brief against a potential abortion ban, Politico said.
Bonta told Politico his office has been preparing arguments on "almost every issue" that could come up in a second Trump administration, from regulations to gun control.
"If he comes into office and follows the law … then there's nothing for us to do," Bonta told Politico. "But if he violates the law, as he has said he would, as Project 2025 says he will, then we are ready. We have gone down to the detail of what court do we file in."
Trump has called Gov. Gavin Newsom, "New-scum" and has regularly attacked former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senator-Elect Adam Schiff as "enemies within."
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said California will make a mistake if it decides to be Trump's chief antagonist again.
"How they responded to the first Trump administration was about politics and not really about looking out for the best interest of California," Gallagher said.
Politico reported there have been discussions of Newsom calling a special session in response to Trump's win. Officials in California worked to "Trump-proof" the state's climate policies and disaster preparedness efforts, Politico said.
There has been informal talk of the governor calling a special session in response to Trump's win, according to a top legislative aide who was granted anonymity to explain potential outcomes before the presidency was called for Trump. But, the person said, no plans have been confirmed by the governor. Newsom's office did not comment.
"We'll do everything we can to ensure that people feel protected, and they feel welcomed," Rivas told Politico.
Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles and 2026 gubernatorial candidate, said the state should focus on Californians and less on fighting Trump.
"The best way to lead the resistance is to demonstrate that in addition to being the fourth largest economy in the world, we can reduce the poverty rate in a state which has the highest effective poverty rate," Villaraigosa told Politico. "The best way to lead the resistance is to say that our public schools are the best in the nation, or that we're moving toward that goal."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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