SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — California has sued the Trump administration 54 times since the President’s second inauguration – a pace that outstrips the state’s legal challenges during Trump’s first term.
Attorney General Rob Bonta marked the milestone Tuesday in San Francisco, pointing to early court wins while acknowledging that many of the state’s biggest legal fights remain unresolved.
There have been 12 final rulings so far, with dozens of other cases still moving through the courts. According to the attorney general’s office, judges have issued 35 injunctions or emergency rulings in California’s favor, temporarily blocking federal actions while lawsuits continue.
“If he stops breaking the law, we’ll stop suing. Plain and simple,” Bonta said. “We can’t abandon our principles, our California values, just because the President has put a target on our state.”
In a statement to ABC7 News, the White House slammed Bonta and Gov. Newsom for its litigation.
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“Instead of bragging about filing frivolous lawsuits against the Trump administration, the California attorney general should focus on addressing problems in his own state,” said. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson.
The cases span a wide range of issues – including challenges to the cancellation of billions of dollars in federal health care research funding and federal immigration-related conditions tied to transportation grants.
One of the most high-profile wins for the state was its lawsuit over Trump administration’s decision to federalize the California National Guard during unrest in Los Angeles last June.
With protests flaring in other cities and President Trump publicly threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty troops, Bonta told ABC7 News his office has long been preparing for that possibility.
“We’ve been looking at this since before Trump was elected,” he said. “We’ve been ready to file a lawsuit to stop him from improperly invoking the Insurrection Act since before he was elected. And we’re ready now.”
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Legal experts say losses in court have not deterred the administration.
“They haven’t won all their cases,” said Rory Little, a constitutional law professor at UC San Francisco. “Trump is very good at managing strategically and appealing very quickly.”
Little said even when the administration loses, it often looks for alternative ways to pursue the same policy goals.
“The president has shown a lot of creative talent to find ways to get around adverse rulings,” he said.
According to the attorney general’s office, California’s lawsuits have protected an estimated $188 billion in federal funding.
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