California Governor Approves $50 Million for Legal Defenses Against Trump Administration

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday approved $50 million for legal defenses against the Trump administration, following a special legislative session he called soon after the president's election late last year.

Newsom signed the bills after a trip to the White House on Wednesday, where he said he had a productive meeting with President Donald Trump on wildfire aid for Los Angeles. The deadly January wildfires that leveled entire neighborhoods have forced the Democratic governor to straddle the line between working with the federal government to secure disaster assistance and pushing back on the White House's aggressive early moves, including threats to withhold federal dollars as a policy cudgel.

The governor, notably, did not hold a signing ceremony to call attention to the subject and has avoided the term "Trump-proofing."

The legislation includes $25 million for court battles with the federal government and $25 million for nonprofits providing legal aid to immigrants facing deportation, eviction, and other threats from federal actions.

In a signing message, Newsom suggested lawmakers might need to pass additional legislation to clarify that the funding would not be used to help undocumented immigrants with serious felony convictions avoid deportation -- a question raised by Republican lawmakers in a recent committee hearing.

"None of the funding in this bill is intended to be used for immigration-related legal services for noncitizens convicted of serious or violent felonies," the governor wrote.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has already joined several other Democratic states in suing the Trump administration over a federal aid freeze and the president's attempt to end birthright citizenship. Bonta, a former Democratic state lawmaker, is emerging as one of the state's top antagonists to the federal administration.

Newsom's White House visit followed Trump's January stop in Los Angeles to tour the wildfire damage. The president shared a hug and kind words for Newsom, his erstwhile political foe, and vowed to help rebuild.

Lawmakers last month approved a separate $2.5 billion relief package for Los Angeles County in a bipartisan vote after Newsom expanded the scope of the special session to include wildfire aid. That package cleared the statehouse a day before Trump's visit and as the president threatened to place conditions on federal disaster aid to California.