00:00Good afternoon, everybody.
00:02Thank you for being here, Rob Bonta, California Attorney General.
00:06I first want to start by welcoming our incredible governor.
00:09Wonderful to have him at the California Department of Justice, as always.
00:12And I want to thank him for his courage, his conviction, his inimitable leadership.
00:18And it's always a pleasure to stand with the governor, literally, and also in our work here.
00:25And that's what we're here to talk about.
00:26We're standing together in our shared mission to protect and defend California and Californians.
00:30And the report my office is putting out today is proof of that mission in action.
00:36And this is the report, as required by the legislation,
00:39to report back to the legislature on how we're using the special session funding.
00:44It sets forth how we've used the $5 million so far and
00:47goes through the different cases and other efforts and actions that we've taken to date.
00:51And as I like to say, as others say, as well, we are bringing the receipts.
00:58And so let me talk about what we've accomplished.
01:00Since President Trump took office on January 20th, the federal administration has led a sweeping campaign
01:06to illegally withhold funding and services to dismantle the federal government and
01:12to strip Californians of their constitutional rights.
01:16In return, California DOJ has had to file 37 lawsuits against the federal administration in just 28 weeks.
01:25More than one lawsuit per week.
01:28We've successfully secured early relief in 17 of 19 cases where we've asked for it and where the court has ruled.
01:37So out of 19 times where we've gone to court and asked for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction, 17 of those times we've gotten it.
01:46Today, we have 13 court orders blocking President Trump's illegal actions.
01:51On top of that, there have been other instances where the administration has conceded and
01:56reversed course outside of a court ruling without a court ruling to document and affirm that fact.
02:04So, there's other metrics for victory as well.
02:09One example of that is just recently, when days after we filed a lawsuit,
02:13the Department of Education restored funding it had illegally frozen and that we had made a subject of our lawsuit.
02:21We've also brought more than 40 amicus briefs, filed more than 40 amicus briefs,
02:28in support of other related cases that are aligned with our mission and our work.
02:33In just the first six months, California DOJ's actions have restored, protected,
02:38and defended over $168 billion in federal funding that our state, that our communities, that our families rely on.
02:48So $5 million of special session money to fund the work to support attorneys and paralegals in my office, $168 billion protected.
03:02That means that for every $1 we've been given by the legislature and
03:06the governor from special session funding to do this work, and we are very grateful for that funding.
03:11We've returned $33,600 for the state, $1 for $33,600 in return.
03:19And just to put it in perspective, if you told a Wall Street investor they'd get a $33,000 return on every $1 invested,
03:24they would trip over themselves to get in on that deal.
03:31In its first week, the Trump administration tried to freeze $3 trillion, with a T, dollars in nationwide funding.
03:38Less than 24 hours later, we were in court to freeze him in his tracks, saving $168 billion for California alone,
03:45one-third of our state's annual budget.
03:50When the administration's initial attempt at a wide net cut failed, it changed course,
03:54and it flooded the zone with near constant attempts to cut off funding anywhere and
03:59everywhere they saw an opening, like a dangerous and unruly game of whack-a-mole.
04:05They kept coming for the same funding, to cut it off, to impound it.
04:09We've been ready to strike back at every turn, securing early court wins to protect a total of $11 billion from the onslaught of success of attacks.
04:18Some of which were repeated attempts to claw back the same funding sources we'd already protected from in our first effort in week one.
04:27So we protected it once in week one, they came after it again, we defended it, that funding, again.
04:32Through those lawsuits, we saved approximately $7 billion in grants to upkeep the roads, railways, and
04:39bridges that connect our communities, that ensure our people can safely get to work,
04:44get to school, and return home at the end of the day.
04:48We saved $939 million for California schools, just weeks before classes started again.
04:54Funds for before, after, and summer learning programs, teacher preparation programs, and
05:00to support students learning English.
05:03We saved $972 million in critical public health funding for the state.
05:08Funding that ensures access to immunizations, that identifies tracks and addresses infectious diseases, and
05:15that modernizes our public health system.
05:18And we saved more than $300 million for electric vehicle infrastructure to ensure our state is ready and
05:24able to move into a future driven by electric vehicles.
05:28Those are just some of the examples of the savings that we've had, the successes that we've secured.
05:33California isn't even asking for its fair share of federal funding.
05:37After all, we are the biggest donor state in the country, paying more in federal taxes than we get back in return.
05:43What we're demanding is that we get the funding that's already been legally approved and appropriated to our state.
05:51Funding that comes from our tax dollars to support our schools, healthcare, transportation, and much more.
05:59The money is critical and it touches every corner of California.
06:05But our work goes far beyond dollars and cents.
06:09It's also about stopping the federal administration from senselessly tearing down the federal government and
06:14the services Americans count on it to provide, paid for by our tax dollars.
06:20Is our government perfect?
06:22No, no institution is, but lighting it on fire and walking away is not the answer.
06:29That only stands to hurt our people and set our nation back for generations to come.
06:35We blocked the administration's attack on the Department of Health and Human Services because we need it.
06:40To continue protecting the health and safety of millions of Americans.
06:43To combat infectious diseases, reduce smoking related deaths, and ensure all families have access to early childhood programs.
06:51We blocked its attempt to dismantle AmeriCorps.
06:54So volunteers can continue to answer the call to serve their country and their fellow American by tutoring students,
07:02serving veterans and older adults, fighting the opioid epidemic, and rebuilding our communities in the wake of disaster.
07:10We're also working to defend our constitutional rights.
07:13Hard-fought rights the president cannot rewrite with the stroke of a pen, though he's tried.
07:19We are fighting for birthright citizenship, and the more than 24,000 babies born in California each year who are rightfully US citizens.
07:28So far, we've won multiple court orders blocking implementation of the executive order while our case proceeds.
07:35And we're working to safeguard California's personal and private data from government misuse.
07:40Specifically, protecting it from Doge, and from private citizen, billionaire, Elon Musk.
07:47Not elected to anything, by the way.
07:49We blocked the poorly named Department of Government Efficiency from accessing your financial data.
07:54Sued the administration for illegally sharing Medicaid data with ICE and challenged demands that we turn over the sensitive and personal data of SNAP recipients.
08:04When you add it all up, you see the totality of what's at stake, the California dream.
08:10The idea that every Californian, no matter how they look, where they live, or how much money they have, can send their kid to school,
08:18go to the doctor when they're sick, and put food on the table and a roof over their heads.
08:25Can work hard, support their families, and give back to their communities.
08:29Can rely on their federal and state government to have their back.
08:34I want to be very clear.
08:35I don't want to have to file these lawsuits.
08:38I'd much rather work with the federal government to serve, protect, and uplift our people and our state.
08:45In fact, the moment the Trump administration stops breaking the law and violating the Constitution, we'll stop suing.
08:52It's simple.
08:53Until then, we have no choice but to take legal action.
08:58No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States.
09:02When you break the law, you need to be held accountable, plain and simple.
09:08The irony is the President has an enormous amount of lawful power at his fingertips.
09:13There's so much he can actually do legally.
09:17If you just stick to that, we wouldn't have a case against him.
09:21Instead, President Trump and his allies continue to abuse their power, break the law, violate the Constitution, and harm our people.
09:29Be it threats to our schools, research for our future, medical care for our sick, or infrastructure that keeps our communities working.
09:37There's too much at stake to sit idly by and follow and allow the President to continue unchecked.
09:44So you've got my word.
09:46Every time the President or his allies break the law, my incredible team of public servants at the California DOJ, and I will be here to take them in court.
09:56Just like we have 37 times already.
09:58As Attorney General, it's my job and my honor to protect California's people, resources, and values.
10:05I've got your back.
10:06I've got California's back.
10:08I'll protect your rights, your freedoms, your funding, and our values.
10:12And fortunately, I don't stand alone.
10:15I have a great team at the California DOJ, and I'm grateful to be able to stand with our great governor and our colleagues in the legislature.
10:21We're one team.
10:23The federal government might be content to forego its duty to serve the people, but the state of California never will.
10:30And now it's my great pleasure to welcome up my partner in this incredible work, Governor Gavin Newsom.
10:37Thank you to you.
Comments