In a recent statement, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta have highlighted the significant financial wins for the state in its legal tussles with the federal government. Spending just $5 million on litigation has seen California recoup $168 billion in federal funds that support a raft of programs and services pivotal to the Golden State.
Within six months, the California Department of Justice actively pushed back against the Trump administration, filing 37 lawsuits and engaging in 23 as lead or co-lead, not to mention drafting over 40 amicus briefs to bolster other related cases. "California’s early, proactive, and defensive actions have helped maintain its values in the face of wholesale attacks against our families and communities," Newsom told his office.
One salient example of success includes a lawsuit that prevented the Trump Administration from freezing nearly $3 trillion in federal funding, which would have impacted about one-third of California's state budget. This early legal victory alone ensured that an estimated $168 billion continued flowing into California's coffers. Moreover, among 19 early relief rulings in the district courts, the state came out on top in 17 cases, preserving billions marked for education, transportation, public health, and even electric vehicle infrastructure.
Amidst the myriad of legal skirmishes, one pressing issue was the attempted federalization of the California National Guard, a move Newsom deemed unlawful. The President's orders, executed without state authorization, led to the deployment of thousands of National Guard members—an action now under trial, as stated by Bonta: "For every dollar we've been given by the Governor and the Legislature in Special Session funding, we’ve returned more than $33,600," Bonta explained in a statement published by his office.
These legal actions are not just about dollars and cents. The lawsuits have defended constitutional rights such as birthright citizenship and voting, halted the dismantling of federal agencies, and safeguarded sensitive private data of Californians from federal overreach. In the transformative landscape of fiscal policy and federal-state dynamics, California has positioned itself not only to protect but to vigorously uphold the values it stakes claim to, setting a firm precedent for other states to emulate.
