In Defying the Odds, we discuss state and congressional elections as well as the presidential race. The update -- just published -- includes a chapter on the 2018 midterms. California is an important part of the story.
In January, he threatened to cut off Federal Emergency Management Administration funds to fight wildfires in the state, saying California wasn't managing forest fires properly. He tried to withhold certain funds from jurisdictions that have declared themselves "sanctuary cities" friendly to undocumented immigrants. California responded by declaring the entire state a sanctuary and by suing in court, so far successfully.
Most recently, the Trump administration stunned California officials by announcing it would not deliver $929 million in grant money for a troubled bullet train project Newsom had already scaled back, and threatening to claw back $2.5 billion in federal dollars the state has already spent on the project. Also this week, federal officials halted negotiations with California over a waiver the state has allowing it to impose stricter fuel economy rules than the rest of the nation. The state has had the waiver since 1963, and it has been credited with instigating a host of changes to reduce pollutants.Mike Allen at Axios:
The president prior to that had signed a tax law that punishes residents of high-tax states, like California, by limiting the amount of state and local taxes people can deduct from their federal returns. In December, the administration moved to deport Vietnamese refugees – many of whom have lived in California for decades.
And a brief list of areas where California has sued Trump, per Axios' Stef Kight:Go deeper: The bad blood between Trump and California
- The border wall
- The border emergency
- DREAMers
- Child separation
- Sanctuary cities
- Immigration questions on the 2020 census
- Trump's attempt to ban transgender troops
- Birth control
- The Affordable Care Act
- Ozone rules
- Federal coal leasing
- Methane release on public and tribal land
- 3D guns
