California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a special session of the state legislature to be convened with a view to taking measures to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights” from the incoming Donald Trump administration.
According to a statement published by Newsom’s office, the special session will focus on “bolstering California legal resources that protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate change and immigrant families.”
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack – and we won’t sit idle. California has faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond. We are prepared, and we will do everything necessary to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive,” Newsom said.
The governor’s office also confirmed to the Associated Press that Newsom and California lawmakers were ready to “Trump-proof” the state’s laws and give the attorney general’s office more funding to fight off any potential federal challenges.
California Republicans have responded to Newsom’s initiative by slamming it as a “shameless political stunt.” California State Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher argued that the only issue the special legislature session would solve is “Gavin Newsom’s insecurity that not enough people are paying attention to him.”
In the past, Trump has also repeatedly described Newsom, who he often calls ‘New-scum’, as “one of the worst governors in the country,” and often points to California’s rampant homelessness problem and growing crime rate as examples of his failed policies.
Following Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election earlier this week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Lelitia James have also announced that they would organize their offices to work against the policies of the incoming Trump administration.
“Our team will do whatever we have to do to identify any possible threats to these rights that we hold dear in the State of New York and protect New Yorkers,” Hochul said a day after Trump’s victory, stating that her office would focus on LGBTQ, gun, and reproductive rights, as well as immigration and the environment.