California Democrats passed $50 million in spending Monday to fight President Donald Trump’s administration and its policies — while also seeking billions of dollars in federal aid to clean up and rebuild after devastating wildfires.
Last week, as Breitbart News reported, California Democrats appeared to get cold feet, delaying a vote in the State Assembly after the $50 million, in two separate bills, passed the State Senate. But they took up the bills again.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported:
California lawmakers approved two bills setting aside $50 million for lawsuits and legal aid services ahead of anticipated battles with the Trump administration.
…
One of the bills passed Monday will send an additional $25 million to the California Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Rob Bonta, to cover legal expenses and lawsuits “to mitigate the impacts of actions taken by the federal government,” the bill says. Lawmakers clarified that while the bill would authorize up to $25 million to the department, it would only be used if necessitated by litigation.
…The other bill sets aside another $25 million for legal aid organizations and immigration centers aimed at defending immigrants in California. The funding for nonprofits and outside groups was originally proposed by Senate Democrats, who reached a deal with Newsom and Assembly leaders on the two Trump-related bills.
Democrats rejected Republican-proposed amendments to prevent any of the money from being used to defend criminal illegal aliens.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill providing $2.5 billion in state aid for the wildfires. But the state is also seeking federal aid that could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars — while fighting Trump.
Newsom has yet to sign the $50 million bill, but has already agreed on the spending in a deal with legislators.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
