Governor Newsom is kicking off a special legislative session in California to lead the legal resistance against President-elect Trump —  an effort expected to focus on protecting the state’s liberal abortion, environmental, and immigration policies as Trump prepares to take office. 

The special session, first announced soon after the election, aims to establish an up-to $25 million litigation fund to “bolster the state’s legal resources in response to the incoming federal administration’s signaled policy proposals that would harm Californians.”

The governor hopes the funds will prepare the state’s Justice Department and other agencies to “defend against unconstitutional or unlawful federal government actions, challenge federal overreach in court, and take administrative actions to reduce potential harm,” a fact sheet about the effort from Mr. Newsom’s office indicates. 

Announced a mere two days after the presidential election, the special session has received pushback from Trump, who said “Governor Gavin Newscum is trying to KILL our Nation’s beautiful California.”

“For the first time ever, more people are leaving than are coming in. He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election. People are being forced to leave due to his, & other’s, INSANE POLICY DECISIONS,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, noting inflation, homelessness, and car prices in the state.

The special session has also met resistance from California Republicans, who say they don’t plan to introduce legislation during it.

“Unfortunately, this special session is limited to the creation of a slush fund to defend Democrats’ sanctuary state policies and environmental mandates that have stuck Californians with the highest energy prices in the country,” the Assembly’s Republican leader, James Gallagher, said, per Politico.“It’s a shame Governor Newsom won’t allow for legislation to bring down the cost of living, fight crime or address homelessness, but at least we know what his priorities are.”

Democrats, however, have praised the effort, saying it will be a way to ensure that the state “must be prepared to defend ourselves” and that it won’t be “caught flat-footed” by the Trump administration. 

“While we always hope to collaborate with our federal partners, California will be ready to vigorously defend our interests and values from any unlawful action by the incoming Trump Administration,” the Assembly Budget chairman,  Jesse Gabriel, said in a statement Monday.

The Golden State backed Vice President Harris in the election by 20 percentage points — a significantly smaller margin than in 2020, when President Biden garnered nearly 30 percentage points more than Trump.

California spent about $42 million on more than 120 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s policies during Trump’s first term, the governor’s office said. 

“California is a tent pole of the country — from the economy to innovation to protecting and investing in rights and freedoms for all people,” Mr. Newsom said, in an emailed statement provided to the Sun. “We will work with the incoming administration and we want President Trump to succeed in serving all Americans. But when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action.”

The governor’s office denies that the session is an effort to “Trump-proof” the state, instead calling it a session to “protect California values and civil rights.” A representative of Mr. Newsom tells the Sun in an email that he’s “not familiar with” a “Trump-proofing” effort. 

“The term ‘Trump-proof’ originates from the President-elect,” Mr. Newsom’s office said, pointing to Trump’s November 8 Truth Social post. “Our office nor the Governor has never used that terminology and is not the goal of this special session.” 
On November 7, however, the Associated Press reported that Mr. Newsom’s office told the AP that the “governor and lawmakers are ready to ‘Trump-proof’ California’s state laws.”