California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Tuesday that his office has protected an estimated $207.1 billion for the state through 82 lawsuits against the Trump administration. He said the effort has covered federal funding, tariffs, elections and civil rights, and his office must keep reporting the work to lawmakers each year.
“Since President Trump returned to office, California has been under attack — and has led the way in fighting back,” Bonta said Tuesday. At a morning news conference, he said, “We’ve protected funding that keeps our communities safe, feeds hungry families, and ensures our kids get the education they deserve. We’ve gone all the way to the Supreme Court to defend constitutional rights — and won. We’ve protected our elections and stopped the militarization of our cities. We’ve defended our right to prioritize public safety over assisting with the President’s inhumane immigration agenda.”
California and the Trump administration
Bonta said his office has filed 82 lawsuits since Trump’s inauguration last year, along with 122 amicus briefs and 112 comment letters. He said the litigation has protected more than $200 billion in federal funding for California, including money tied to transportation, emergency preparedness, education and family assistance.
He also said the work blocked $168 billion in threatened cuts after the Trump administration tried to freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding to the states last year. Bonta said the office’s actions protected birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of immigrants, prevented National Guard troops from being deployed in major California cities against the wishes of local leaders, lifted multiple sets of tariffs that were driving up costs, and blocked repeated efforts to interfere in California’s elections.
Report to lawmakers Tuesday
The office published its latest report to lawmakers Tuesday, and Bonta said it is required to report annually on its work fighting the Trump administration. The report said the office received $19.2 million of the $25 million special-session funding through July 30, and said that amount contributed to the litigation but was not enough to cover its cost.
Bonta said at the news conference that his office has spent close to $30 million. The office also received regular appropriations of $14.2 million last fiscal year and $23.9 million this fiscal year, while its overall budget is about $1.4 billion.
Abigail Jackson response
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “Instead of bragging about filing frivolous lawsuits against the Trump Administration, the California AG should focus on addressing problems in his own state — like the countless criminal illegal aliens the Newscum Administration allows to roam free and terrorize communities.”
The report leaves one practical question open for California residents and policymakers: which lawsuits drove most of the $207.1 billion figure. Bonta’s office has said the total spans funding, tariffs, elections and civil rights, but it did not break the estimate into case-by-case amounts.
