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Newsom vs. Trump: When big states take on the White House

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said that his job is not to wake up every day and put a crowbar in the spokes of the wheel of the Trump administration. The Democrat has noted that he had a 鈥溾�� with Donald Trump during his first term as president. And when the second one begins on Jan. 20, Governor Newsom says he鈥檒l approach the returning president with an 鈥渙pen hand, not a closed fist.鈥�

And yet. The governor of the most populous U.S. state, the man repeatedly mentioned as a possible presidential candidate for 2028, is putting on boxing gloves and suiting up for a legal battle.

Mr. Newsom has called a special session of the state Legislature for Dec. 2 to fund anticipated legal action against policies in Mr. Trump鈥檚 second term. With California鈥檚 size and strength as the world鈥檚 fifth-largest economy behind him, Governor Newsom and his attorney general are expected to lead the charge as Democratic states prepare to take on the executive branch 鈥� a role reversal with red states that 鈥� spearheaded by Texas 鈥� have repeatedly sued the Biden administration.

鈥淐alifornia, due to its size and economic prowess, really can play an outsized role compared to other states across the country,鈥� says Paul Nolette, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University. 鈥淣ewsom understands that and realizes that this is a way to both push back substantively on Trump policies, as well as raise his own profile for the future.鈥�

Now in his second term with two years to go, Governor Newsom is no newcomer to legal warfare. During Trump 1.0, California was involved in more than 120 lawsuits against the administration. Most were successful. But Democrats will have a tougher time in President Trump鈥檚 second term, says Dr. Nolette, who keeps聽 of state litigation against the federal government.

Why suing Trump may pack less punch

Republican appointees now dominate the U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices appointed by Mr. Trump. The former and future president also made inroads with the historically liberal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit: Trump appointees now make up more than a third of the San Francisco-based court. Most cases are heard by a randomly chosen three-judge panel, which ups the chances that a Republican appointee, or, more importantly, two, are hearing a case.

The president-elect is also battle-tested and more experienced after his first term. Trump 1.0 had a 鈥渟cattershot鈥� quality, with many lawsuits lost on procedural grounds, said Governor Newsom in a video message just days after the election. This time, 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to come harder; he鈥檚 going to come faster 鈥� executive orders Day 1,鈥� said Governor Newsom. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to be caught flat-footed.鈥�

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump regularly bashed the Golden State as a failure under Democratic leadership. 鈥淕overnor Gavin Newscum is trying to KILL our Nation鈥檚 beautiful California,鈥澛� after the governor announced the special legislative session. Mr. Trump suggests he鈥檒l take on everything from California鈥檚 laws prohibiting voter ID to its policies around water management, vehicle emissions standards, unauthorized immigrants, and gender-related issues in schools. He has also threatened to withhold disaster aid.

But Governor Newsom says California will 鈥渟tand firm鈥� if the president-elect makes good on his threats. In his聽 for the special session, he said that he and the attorney general have been preparing for a possible Trump administration for more than a year, gearing up for an expected federal 鈥渁ssault鈥� on reproductive freedom, climate change policies, protections for immigrant families and children, and disaster aid.

He鈥檚 not going this alone. Other states have been readying for months, and Mr. Newsom has said that he is looking to build partnerships, as California did during Mr. Trump鈥檚 first term.

Litigation shifts and party lines

Multistate litigation against the federal government goes back to the Reagan era. Still, it exploded in the first Trump administration, with 160 suits filed by state attorneys general, according to Dr. Nolette. He expects the number against the Biden administration to be near that amount, or even top it, due to suits filed up to the eve of Mr. Trump鈥檚 inauguration.

The suits result from states chafing against presidents who seek ever more power. Given a trend of executive branch overreach, the state lawsuits often succeed, hitting an extraordinarily high success rate of 83% against the Trump administration and 74% against the Biden government, says Dr. Nolette.

He points to attorneys general and governors in Democratic strongholds such as Washington, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and says these are states to watch as potential partners for California. All were involved in聽 against the first Trump administration. But, he says, pay particular attention to Massachusetts and Connecticut because the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals covers them for the 1st Circuit. All of those judges are Democrat appointees.

Some Democratic governors sound more cautious than Mr. Newsom. Katie Hobbs of Arizona 鈥� where Trump handily won 鈥� says she with the new administration on border issues such as fentanyl, but not on areas that she says could hurt Arizona families, like mass deportations.

Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, where Vice President Kamala Harris won by a wide margin, is launching 聽with blue state Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The alliance is billed as nonpartisan and pledges to 鈥渇ortify democracy.鈥� It鈥檚 a work in progress, but some Democrats, such as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, which Mr. Trump flipped in November, are not joining. So far, no current Republican governors have joined.

Prudent preparedness or 鈥減olitical stunt鈥�

Governor Newsom鈥檚 call for a special legislative session is a 鈥減olitical stunt,鈥� says California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher. Far more pressing are the state鈥檚 homeless, cost-of-living, crime, and insurance crises, he says.

鈥淚nstead of actually holding a special session to address those issues, our governor and our attorney general would rather spend more money ... on government lawyers to fight Trump,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely tone-deaf.鈥�

But Garry South, a longtime Democratic consultant in California, calls the governor鈥檚 legal strategy 鈥減rudent.鈥� Mr. Newsom would be 鈥渘egligent鈥� if he didn鈥檛 take the legal lead, given the severe impact that something like mass deportations would have on agriculture in California, the nation鈥檚 food basket.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 going to be California fighting Trump for the sake of fighting Trump,鈥� says Mr. South. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be California trying to block moves that he will try to make, which could have dire impacts on the state of our economy and also on the economy of the United States of America.鈥�

Could presidential aspirations also be playing a role here?

鈥淪ure,鈥� says Mr. South. 鈥淚f there are political benefits, so be it. But someone has to step up to the plate and take this guy on. And I think Newsom is probably better equipped to do that than anyone else that I can see on the horizon.鈥�

Leading the legal resistance will help Mr. Newsom raise his national profile, but 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 necessarily translate into broader appeal,鈥� says Mark Baldassare, survey director at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Affordability played a huge role in this election, and as the governor and state attorney general set about defending issues like climate and electric vehicles, 鈥淧eople are going to want to know what are the economic consequences.鈥�