California Democrats are appealing to the ‘lame duck’ Obama administration to take measures that would protect its left-wing policies even in the face of changes under incoming President Donald Trump.
Bay Area public radio station KQED reports that state leaders and California’s congressional delegation — at least on the Democratic side — are asking President Barack Obama to do whatever he can before he leaves office to protect their priorities on immigration, the environment, and “civil rights.”
KQED notes:
In an effort to head off one potential impact, Senate Democrats have sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling in federal waters off California’s coast.
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Senate leader Kevin de León last month met with House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to discuss how best to protect progressive policies after Obama leaves office.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said he’s had meetings with the Obama administration. Rendon said he sought their insights into what the future holds and discussed how to close out some remaining business the state has with the current administration.
California Democrats worry that their state will be last in line for federal spending — and perhaps also worry that the state will lose access to federal funds in an anticipated fight over “sanctuary cities.”
However, many California Republicans are looking forward to changes that they expect the Trump administration will bring, including new military spending, more water for Central Valley farmers, and immigration enforcement.
California is one of only four states where Democrats control both the governor’s mansion and the state legislature. The others are Hawaii, Oregon, and Rhode Island. (Connecticut and Delaware nearly qualify as well, but Democrats only control the state legislature in each through tie-breaking votes). Republicans control all branches of state government in 25 states.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.