California governor calls special legislative session, girding for fights with Trump

By Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) - California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that he will convene a special session of the legislature in response to Donald Trump winning 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 conflict with state law in such areas as reproductive health and climate change.

Newsom said the California Legislature must meet on Dec. 2 to consider increasing funding to the state's Department of Justice so it can challenge such policies in court.

After four years away from the White House, Trump is due to be sworn in as president on Jan. 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 won't sit idle," Newsom said in a statement. "We are prepared, and we will do everything necessary to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive."

Trump has frequently used intimidating rhetoric against those he perceives as his political enemies. California has long been a reliably Democratic state, and its voters went with Trump's rival, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Tuesday's election.

In his victory speech early on Wednesday morning, Trump promised unity: "Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future," he said. But many Democrats do not believe him.

Newsom said that in Trump's previous term from 2017 to 2021, California filed more than 120 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's policies.

Based on Trump's previous time in office and statements Trump made during his 2024 election campaign, Newsom said he expected to see additional restrictions on reproductive healthcare, the undoing of policies designed to mitigate climate change, and withholding of disaster relief funding and grants as a form of "political retribution." Newsom also said Trump policies may harm immigrant families.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)