Combating federal authorities pays off – California’s authorized challenges have restored a minimum of $168 billion in federal funding

In coordination with Attorney General Rob Bonta, California has filed 37 lawsuits, main or co-leading 23 of them, and individually filed greater than 40 amicus briefs in help of different litigation towards the Trump Administration in simply six months. In the 19 instances the place California has sought and a district court docket has dominated on early aid, the state has succeeded in 17 of them with 13 orders blocking President Trump’s unlawful actions at the moment in impact. 

These actions have ensured that an estimated $168 billion continued to move to the state by a single early lawsuit difficult the President’s unlawful and sweeping freeze of federal funding. California’s continued court docket actions have additionally protected an estimated $11.1 billion in federal grant funding from successive focused efforts by the Trump Administration to defend California’s values. California has additionally secured concessions and reversals exterior of court docket, together with the Department of Education’s recent decision to restore funding it had illegally frozen simply days after California filed a lawsuit.

“In his first week in office, President Trump went after a full-third of California’s budget – and we went to court less than 24 hours later and stopped him in his tracks. When the Administration’s first effort to freeze all federal funding to California failed, it changed course, flooding the zone with near-constant attempts to cut off funding like a dangerous and unruly game of whack-a-mole. But this is not a game. We’re talking about people’s livelihoods, their health, their education, and in some cases even their lives. That’s why every time the President breaks the law, my office stands ready to take him to court,” stated Attorney General 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. I’m proud of my incredible team who have been working around the clock to protect California’s people, values, and resources in the face of relentless attacks. We know that this work is just the beginning, but we are not backing down. Too much is at stake, whether it be school programs for our kids, research for our future, medical care for our sick, or infrastructure that keeps our cars driving and planes in the air. California will continue to fight at every turn to hold the President and his Administration accountable to the Constitution they swore to uphold.”

A major return on funding

In late 2024, Governor Newsom convened a particular session to put aside state cash to pay for authorized prices to fight then President-elect Trump’s administration. With help from the Legislature, the state devoted $25 million for the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) and different state companies to problem and defend towards unlawful actions by the Trump Administration and one other $25 million to help authorized help for susceptible Californians in civil proceedings. 

Newsom v. Trump: the illegal federalization of the National Guard

In this emergency litigation, California challenged orders by President Trump to federalize the California National Guard. The federal authorities’s orders got here with out authorization from the governor and towards the needs of native regulation enforcement.

Nearly two months after the illegal federalization of the California National Guard, and deployment of just about 5,000 troopers within the Los Angeles space, all however 300 National Guard members are anticipated to go residence quickly. So far, 4,700 troopers have demobilized or begun demobilizing. The President ought to enable the remaining troopers to return to their households, communities, and civilian professions as medical doctors, regulation enforcement and lecturers. This case goes to trial, led by CA DOJ attorneys, to ascertain that the army efforts on the bottom violate federal regulation.

California’s early wins in court docket

Through litigation introduced on by the CA DOJ, the state has rejected the successive focused efforts by the Trump Administration to terminate, impound, or situation particular funding for schooling, healthcare, transportation, and extra; defended constitutional rights like birthright citizenship and the fitting to vote; and stopped the dismantling of federal companies like U.S. Health and Human Services and AmeriCorps, amongst different aid to the states. 

• 1/3 of the state’s finances: After the Office of Management and Budget issued a directive that presupposed to freeze practically $3 trillion in federal funding, California led a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit difficult the directive. The CA DOJ secured a right away temporary restraining order and subsequent preliminary injunction, preserving roughly $168 billion in federal funding for California, representing about one-third of the State’s finances. These are tax {dollars} coming again into California, which contributes to the federal finances as a net-donor state.
• Transportation funding: California receives roughly $7 billion in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) annually to help and preserve the roads, highways, railways, airways, and bridges that join our communities and carry our residents to their workplaces and their houses. In June, the CA DOJ secured a court order blocking the DOT from imposing illegal immigration enforcement situations on this grant funding.
• Education funding: The CA DOJ protected $939 million for California faculties final week when the U.S. Department of Education reversed its resolution to withhold very important schooling funding simply weeks earlier than the varsity 12 months was set to begin within the face of a multistate lawsuit. This funding helps key packages for after faculty and summer time studying, instructor preparation, and to help college students studying English.
• Public well being funding: The state additionally protected roughly $11 billion in essential public well being funding nationwide, together with roughly $972 million for California, by litigation difficult and subsequent court orders blocking the abrupt termination of federal funding for grants that present important help for a variety of pressing public well being wants, together with figuring out, monitoring, and addressing infectious illnesses; guaranteeing entry to immunizations; and modernizing essential public well being infrastructure.
• Electric car infrastructure funding: After the Trump Administration sought to withhold billions of {dollars} in funding permitted by bipartisan majorities in Congress for electrical car charging infrastructure, California filed a lawsuit and secured a court order restoring greater than $300 million in funding beforehand awarded to California.

Continuing to guard our California values 

• Stopping the dismantling of our democracy: From his first days in workplace, President Trump has made clear his want to remove many federal companies and has sought to take action by dismantling the federal authorities from inside. The CA DOJ has fought to halt these efforts, securing court docket orders restoring AmeriCorps packages and funding; blocking the mass firing and restructuring of US HHS; and reversing the dismantling of a number of smaller companies together with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
• Defending birthright citizenship: In the state Attorney General’s first case towards the second Trump Administration, simply sooner or later after President Trump took workplace, the CA DOJ filed a lawsuit difficult the President’s unconstitutional govt order in search of to finish birthright citizenship. At stake are an estimated 24,500 kids born in California annually who could be denied the citizenship they’re entitled to below the U.S. Constitution. The CA DOJ, with a coalition of attorneys basic from throughout the nation, has received multiple court orders barring implementation of this order nationwide as litigation continues. 
• Safeguarding California’s delicate non-public knowledge: The state has filed a number of lawsuits to guard Californians’ private and personal knowledge from misuse by the federal authorities. The CA DOJ secured a court order blocking the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to entry Americans’ monetary knowledge; sued the Trump Administration for illegally sharing Medicaid knowledge with ICE; and challenged the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s unlawful calls for that states flip over the delicate and private knowledge of SNAP recipients.