By Jonathan Allen
(Reuters) – California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday he will call a special session of the legislature in response to Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, which Newsom said threatened his state’s values.
In a proclamation, Newsom, a Democrat, said he expected Trump, a Republican, to pursue “unconstitutional and unlawful federal policies” that would harm Californians or violate state laws in areas such as reproductive health and climate change.
Newsom said the California Legislature should meet on Dec. 2 to consider increasing funding to the state’s Department of Justice so it can challenge such policies in court.
After a four-year absence from the White House, Trump will be sworn in as president on January 20, 2025. A spokesperson for Trump’s election campaign did not respond to questions about California’s proclamation.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack – and we will not sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are prepared and will do everything we can to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive.”
Trump has often used intimidating rhetoric against those he considers his political enemies. California has long been a reliably Democratic state, and voters followed Trump’s rival, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Tuesday’s election.
In his victory speech early Wednesday morning, Trump promised unity: “Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future,” he said. But many Democrats don’t believe him.
Newsom said California filed more than 120 lawsuits against Trump administration policies during Trump’s previous term, from 2017 to 2021.
Based on Trump’s previous term in office and statements Trump made during his 2024 election campaign, Newsom said he expected to see additional restrictions on reproductive health care, undoing policies intended to mitigate climate change, and withholding disaster financing and subsidies as a form of emergency aid. of ‘political retaliation’. Newsom also said Trump’s policies could hurt immigrant families.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
