As some of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles County history continue to rage, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrat-controlled state legislature on Sunday agreed to set aside $50 million to fight the Trump administration and defend illegal immigrants.
The vote on the deal could take place as soon as this week — before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office next Monday, according to POLITICO. California Republicans slammed Newsom and the Democrats for focusing on fighting Trump while fires continue to burn in Southern California.
The deal, first proposed by Newsom immediately after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November, came out of a special session that began on December 2. The deal sets aside $25 million to fund the California Department of Justice’s fight against the Trump administration in court and $25 million to shield illegal immigrants from deportations, detention, and wage theft, POLITICO reported.
“This funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda,” said Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener.
In a November statement announcing the special session, Newsom said, “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle.”
Republicans have called for a special session to focus solely on the response to the fires, and Newsom, during an appearance on the Left-leaning podcast, “Pod Save America,” said he is “happy to do whatever moves the needle forward.”
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Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher blasted Newsom’s deal with state Democrats, saying in a statement, “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.”
California Senate Democrats pushed for funding to help illegal immigrants as Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations upon taking office. Since the 1980s, California has held the highest number of illegal immigrants among any state. According to Pew Research numbers from 2022, California’s illegal immigrant population sits at around 1.8 million, which is nearly 200,000 more than Texas.
“Senate Democrats are particularly proud to provide funding for providers of legal aid services, which know our communities’ needs best and are best positioned to defend at scale the millions of individuals and families that will be impacted by the incoming Administration’s extreme agenda,” state Sen. Wiener added.
