California Democrats have reached a $50 million agreement to shore up state and local legal defenses against the incoming Trump administration just a week ahead of the president-elect’s inauguration

California Democrats have reached a $50 million agreement to bolster state and local legal defenses against the incoming Trump administration, just one week before the president-elect's inauguration. Half of the funding is earmarked to counter any potential mass deportation efforts that the new administration might implement early in its term.

This unprecedented move positions California to lead the resistance against Trump’s second term, even as Republicans criticize state Democratic leaders for prioritizing a partisan agenda while Southern California battles historically devastating wildfires.

The agreement allocates $25 million, proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, to the state Department of Justice to challenge the federal government in court following Trump’s reelection in November. Additionally, state Senate leaders proposed another $25 million to defend immigrants from deportation, detention, and wage theft. This latter funding would support grants for legal nonprofits and immigrant support organizations.

“This funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda,” said Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, in a statement. Wiener has expressed interest in potentially succeeding Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

Legislative floor votes on the special session package could occur as early as this week, giving Newsom time to sign the deal before Trump’s inauguration on January 20. This would also shift attention from partisan disputes to the state’s response to the ongoing wildfire disaster in Los Angeles.

Representatives for Newsom’s office and legislative leaders have not commented on the agreement, which is expected to be formally announced on Monday.

Meanwhile, Republicans have pushed for a special session focused solely on wildfire response. During a recent appearance on “Pod Save America,” Newsom said he was open to any measures that “move the needle forward” and mentioned that he and legislative leaders would discuss whether a fire-focused session was necessary.

Despite Newsom’s and other legislators’ presence in Southern California since the wildfires intensified, GOP leaders remain critical.

“At a time when California should be laser-focused on responding to the devastating wildfires in LA, Democrat lawmakers’ priority is creating a $50 million slush fund to hire government lawyers for hypothetical fights against the federal government and to defend criminal illegal immigrants from being returned to their home countries,” Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher said in a statement.

The specifics of the agreement emerged through amendments to four special session bills on Friday.