California to Declare ‘Legal War’ Against Trump Administration

California State Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Paramount) kicked off Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for newly-appointed state Attorney General Xavier Becerra by predicting a “legal war” between California and the Trump administration.

The San Diego Union-Tribune and other outlets reported that Jones-Sawyer said California faced a “long, legal war” with President-elect Donald Trump after he ran “the most xenophobic campaign in modern history.”

Becerra, who is currently a U.S. congressman and prominent member of the Democratic caucus, was nominated to take over as California Attorney General by Gov. Jerry Brown after Kamala Harris won a U.S. Senate seat. She was sworn in last week. Thus far, he has built his candidacy for the job around a promise to resist the policies of the Trump administration, especially on immigration. Separately, the state legislature has retained former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for the same purpose — though the constitutionality of that hire is being challenged by Republican State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville).

Brown introduced Becerra at the State Assembly’s hearing by warning that “there are big battles ahead.” In his own remarks, Becerra voiced an apparently newfound interest in states’ rights, vowing to resist “federal intrusion” in California: “You will find me being as aggressive as possible working with all of you to figure out ways that we can make sure there is no federal intrusion in areas that are really left to the state in the U.S. Constitution,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Immigration, as Democrats have repeatedly noted, is an area under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government.

The State Assembly panel voted 6-3 on party lines to recommend Becerra’s appointment, the Times reported.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.