CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA on Tuesday championed what he said was the state’s success with dozens of lawsuits against the second administration of President Donald Trump, who entered office one year ago.
“We went into Trump’s first year suited up and ready to hit whatever curve ball the federal administration threw our way, and we’ve delivered,” Bonta said at the briefing at Crissy Field in San Francisco.
The litigation has challenged federal government actions such as the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles and Portland, Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, the mass firing of federal workers, and Trump’s move to block California’s mandate to ban new sales of gas-powered cars by 2035.
Half of the lawsuits contest the cutting of federal funding for food benefits, child care programs, health care, disaster relief, mental health programs in schools, scientific research and other programs.
Most of the litigation was filed jointly with the attorneys general of other Democratic states, primarily arguing that the Trump administration acted unlawfully.
“We’ve taken Trump to court 54 times, that’s more than once a week, and we have won repeatedly,” Bonta said. “If he wants to stop losing, it’s simple — he should stop breaking the law. If he stops breaking the law, we’ll stop suing.”
The state has seen success with 80% of its cases against the federal government, Bonta said.
Most of those successes have been with judges authorizing preliminary injunctions blocking the Trump administration from withholding federal funding. Those cases are still ongoing.
Judges have granted injunctions preventing the federal government from pausing food benefits during the November government shutdown, as well as freezing billions in funding for child care and family assistance programs.
If he wants to stop losing, it’s simple — he should stop breaking the law. If he stops breaking the law, we’ll stop suing.
AG rob bonta
“While these are emergency forms of relief, they block the unlawful actions that are hurting our people,” Bonta said. “They protect our people while the case proceeds through the courts.”
Twelve of the cases have reached final rulings.
In one case, Bonta sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for illegally taking over the state’s National Guard when troops were deployed to address protests in Los Angeles. The judge ruled in California’s favor.
The federal government has also agreed to settlements for some of the cases, and judges have thrown out cases brought against California. The Trump administration has also backed out of some of its attempts to appeal decisions.
For example, California joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s plans to withhold millions in funding for AmeriCorps, a federal agency where Americans can receive stipends or other benefits in exchange for community service. The Trump administration eventually agreed to drop its opposition and release the funds.
“As we’ve racked up the ‘W’s’ more than once, the Trump administration has thrown in the towel, waved the white flag and accepted defeat,” Bonta said.
The state has invested $19 million in legal action against the Trump administration. In the first year of litigation, Bonta estimates that $188 billion has been protected for Californians through the outcomes of the cases.
Heading into the second year of Trump’s term, Bonta remains confident that the justice system will be a crucial part of keeping the actions of Trump administration in check.
“I understand that people are anxious and worried, that they’re scared about the future,” Bonta said. “But our democracy is resilient and strong, and it is definitely being stress tested by one man and his lawless agenda.”